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15Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People – Council of Europe

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Human Rights Education and Compass

Chapter 1

Human Rights Educationand Compass, a Brief Guide

for Practitioners

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Manual on Human Rights Education with Young People – Council of Europe


Table of contents of this chapterUnderstanding Human Rights Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

What is Human Rights Education? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Outcomes of HRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18Knowledge, skills and attitudes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19An inclusive approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20HRE with young people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Formal and non-formal educational settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21HRE as a starting point for action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22International support for HRE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

HRE and Other Education Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25A human rights world . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25What is a “human rights issue”? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Issues covered in the manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Citizenship Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Personal and Social Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Global Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Intercultural Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28Development Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Environmental Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Peace Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30Law-related Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Using COMPASS across Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31What and where is Europe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31A book for Europe? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32A European Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Youth work and youth representation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34The Convention on the Rights of the Child . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35The production process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35Using the manual across cultures and languages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

How to use COMPASS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38How to work with the manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38The educational approaches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39Common questions about Human Rights Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44Tips for users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Tips for facilitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Group work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Group work techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48General tips on running activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52When things don’t go the way you expected them to . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53Managing conflict within the group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Some methods and techniques for supporting effective learning groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55Methods and techniques for developing discussion skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58Methods and techniques for developing collective decision- making skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Activities for reviewing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62


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Understanding HumanRights Education

What is Human Rights Education?“… educational programmes and activities that focus on promoting equality in

human dignity, in conjunction with other programmes such as those promotingintercultural learning, participation and empowerment of minorities”

Official definition of Human Rights Education for the Council of Europe Youth Programme

A long-term aim

There are many definitions and a number of different approaches, but human rights educationis best described in terms of what it sets out to achieve. The long term aim of such programmesis to establish a culture where human rights are understood, defended and respected. Thus,anyone who works with other people may be said to engage in human rights education if theyhave this end in mind and take steps to achieve it – no matter how or where they go about it.

There may be slightly different views about the best or most appropriate way to movetowards such an end, but that is as it should be. No two individuals, or groups of individuals, orcultures have identical requirements, and no one educational approach will suit all individuals,all groups, or all societes. This only goes to show that effective human rights education needsto be, above all, learner-centred: it has to begin from the needs, preferences, abilities anddesires of each person, within each society.

A learner-centred educational approach recognises the value of personal action and personalchange and also takes account of the social context in which learners find themselves, but thisneed not mean that educators have to work in isolation, or that they cannot learn from otherswho may be working in different contexts. What draws human rights educators together fromaround the globe is a common enterprise – a desire to promote and inhabit a world wherehuman rights are valued and respected. There are general guidelines, tried and tested methods,educational materials, and many people working in the field – all of which can help us to achievethis common aim. This manual is intended as another contribution.

? What do you understand by human rights education?

Breaking it down

The long view is important but for practical purposes we sometimes need a more down-to-earth picture of our aims. It can help to break these down into more concrete objectives: to lookat the different components that go to make up a culture of human rights, and then to think abouthow we might be able to approach these individually. A human rights culture, after all, is notmerely a culture where everyone knows their rights – because knowledge does not necessarilyequal respect, and without respect, we shall always have violations. A human rights culture is a

“Education shall be directed tothe full development of thehuman personality and to thestrengthening of respect forhuman rights and fundamentalfreedoms. It shall promoteunderstanding, tolerance andfriendship among all nations,racial or religious groups, andshall further the activities of theUnited Nations for themaintenance of peace”.

Article 26, UDHR

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network of interlocking attitudes, beliefs, behaviours, norms and regulations. Understanding thesecan give us hooks on which to hang the work we carry out within our groups.

Towards a human rights culture

The following points derive from the essential elements of such a culture. They can provide uswith general objectives for human rights education:

§ to strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms§ to develop a sense of individual self-respect and respect for others: a value for human

dignity§ to develop attitudes and behaviour that will lead to respect for the rights of others§ to ensure genuine gender equality and equal opportunities for women in all spheres§ to promote respect, understanding and appreciation of cultural diversity, particularly

towards different national, ethnic, religious, linguistic and other minorities and communities§ to empower people towards more active citizenship§ to promote democracy, development, social justice, communal harmony, solidarity

and friendship among people and nations§ to further the activities of international institutions aimed at the creation of a culture

of peace, based upon universal values of human rights, international understanding,tolerance and non-violence.

Outcomes of HREWhat are the aims for my group?

We have identified a global aim for human rights education, and some long-term goals. But wecan move, even closer to home, and think about the needs of individual groups and communities:changing in the world, by working locally!

The world, at the moment, is a world where there are violations of human rights all aroundus. In an ideal case, it might be enough to instil in the members of your group a sense of respecttowards other human beings, and to hope that they, at least, will not be among those who willviolate the rights of others in the future. This is one important aspect of the work we do aseducators for human rights.

But we can aim for more: we can aim to inspire the young people with whom we work toact not only on themselves but also on the world around them. We can try to inspire them tobecome, in their own right, mini-educators and mini-activists who will themselves assist in thedefence of human rights – even when the issues do not appear to touch them personally.There is nothing unachievable about that aim: it does not mean that we should expect youngpeople to devote their lives to the defence of human rights, but only that they should be awareof the issues, concerned by the issues, and capable of acting to alter the existing state of affairswhere they feel that this is necessary.With this idea in mind, existing models of human rights education sub-divide objectives intothree main areas:

§ Promoting awareness and understanding of human rights issues, in order that peoplerecognise violations of human rights

“A journey of one thousandkilometres always begins with a

single step.”

Lao-Tse


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§ Developing the skills and abilities necessary for the defence of human rights§ Developing attitudes of respect for human rights, so that people do not willingly

violate the rights of others.

? What can you identify as the main concerns for the young people that youwork with?

Knowledge, skills and attitudesWhat type of knowledge is necessary for young people to gain a deeper understanding of human rightsissues? Which skills and attitudes will be required for them to help in the defence of human rights?The lists below provide some of answers to these questions; these were the objectives thatwe used in putting together this manual.

Knowledge and understanding

§ Key concepts such as: freedom, justice, equality, human dignity, non-discrimination,democracy, universality, rights, responsibilities, interdependence and solidarity.

§ The idea that human rights provide a framework for negotiating and agreeing standardsof behaviour in the family, in school, in the community, and in the wider world;

§ The role of human rights and their past and future dimension in one’s own life, in thelife of communities, and in the lives of other people around the world.

§ The distinction between civil/political and social/economic rights;§ Different ways of viewing and experiencing human rights in different societies,

different groups within the same society, and the various sources of legitimacy -including religious, moral and legal sources;

§ Main social changes, historical events and reasons leading to the recognition of humanrights;

§ Major international instruments that exist to implement the protection of humanrights - such as the United Nations Declarations of Human Rights (UDHR), theUnited Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the EuropeanConvention on the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR);

§ Local, national, international bodies, non-governmental organisations, individualsworking to support and protect human rights.

Skills

§ Active listening and communication: being able to listen to different points of view,to advocate one’s own rights and those of other people;

§ Critical thinking: finding relevant information, appraising evidence critically, beingaware of preconceptions and biases, recognising forms of manipulation, and makingdecisions on the basis of reasoned judgement;

§ The ability to work co-operatively and to address conflict positively;§ The ability to participate in and organise social groups;§ Acting to promote and safeguard human rights both locally and globally.

learning about human rights

learning for human rights

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Attitudes and values

§ A sense of responsibility for one’s own actions, a commitment to personaldevelopment and social change;

§ Curiosity, an open mind and an appreciation of diversity;§ Empathy and solidarity with others and a commitment to support those whose

human rights are under threat;§ A sense of human dignity, of self-worth and of others’ worth, irrespective of social,

cultural, linguistic or religious differences;§ A sense of justice, the desire to work towards the ideals of freedom, equality and

respect for diversity.

HRE with young peopleIt is increasingly accepted that attention should be devoted to human rights education foryoung people, not only because it is important for society, but also because young peoplethemselves appreciate and benefit from the type of activities that this work involves.Contemporary societies and, in particular, the youth population are increasingly confronted byprocesses of social exclusion, of religious, ethnic and national differences, and by thedisadvantages – and advantages – of increasing globalisation. Human rights education addressesthese important issues and can help to make sense of the different perceptions, beliefs, attitudes

learning through human rights

“The word ‘education’ impliesthe entire process of social lifeby means of which individuals

and social groups learn todevelop consciously within, and

for the benefit of, the nationaland international communities,

the whole of their personalcapacities, attitudes, aptitudes

and knowledge.”

UNESCORecommendations, 1974

An inclusive approachIn this manual we have taken an inclusive approach to HRE in a number of different senses.Firstly, we have tried to embrace every one of the three different dimensions – knowledge,skills and attitudes – to an equal degree. Secondly, the activities have been designed with abroad audience in mind – both in terms of age range and in adressing the formal, non-formaland informal education sectors simultaneously. Thirdly, we tried to link human rights educationthrough participatory and active learning activities to relevant local and global issues such asdevelopment, environment, intercultural relations and peace. We do not suggest that HREcan only be approached as a separate discipline.The use of such participatory activities has been central. Studies show that co-operativelystructured small group work helps in building group cohesion, and in reducing biases betweengroup members. Co-operative group work also helps to improve understanding of complexconcepts and increases problem-solving skills, enabling participants to devise solutions thatdemonstrate greater creativity and practicality. All of these outcomes are important aims ofhuman rights education. That means that we need to ‘include’ young people themselves atevery moment of learning process. We should not fall into the trap of assuming that we, theeducators, are in possession of an ultimate truth, which must be passed on to passive learners.Such an approach can easily transform human rights education into the worst type of ‘ideological’education. An essential feature of the methodology contained in this manual involves the ideathat young people will bring to any educational process a rich pool of experience, which mustbe actively drawn upon to ensure an interesting and effective development of the educationalactivities. Questions, often even conflicts, should be regarded as fundamental educationalresources, which can be adressed in a positive manner.

“I hear and I forget.I see and I remember. I do and I

understand.”

Confucius


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“Active and participatoryapproaches are particularlyvaluable in assuring learningacquisition and allowinglearners to reach their fullestpotential”

From the 1990 JomtienDeclaration.

and values of a modern multi-cultural society. It helps individuals to find ways of using suchdifferences in positive ways.

Perhaps more importantly, young people care about human rights, and in that sense, theyprovide the main resource for human rights education. Young people today are often criticisedfor being apathetic and uninterested in politics; but a number of studies appear to suggest thatthe opposite is actually the case. Research carried out for the European Commission in 2001,for example, reminded us that young people do participate in society - not least, throughassociations and youth clubs. On average, within the countries of the European Union, morethan 50% of young people either participate in, or belong to, an association of some type1

(although there are significant differences from one country to another).As far as interest in political issues goes, a study of young people’s attitudes to the European

Union revealed that human rights issues rank among their top priorities. Beaten only by theissues of unemployment and crime, young people would most like their governments to addressthe protection of human rights, protection of the environment, the fight against racism, andinequality between the sexes2 .

? Is it your experience that young people are not interested in political issues?If so – why do you think this might be?

Experience from around the globe has shown the energy and commitment that young peoplewill devote to such issues if they can themselves take joint responsibility for what they do andhow they learn, and if the issues are presented in relevant and interesting ways.

As educators, we need to harness that energy. That they will take up these ideas and run withthem is evident from the numerous existing programmes for young people - from the small scaleactivities carried out on a relatively ad hoc basis in individual youth clubs or schools, to the majorinternational programmes conducted by the Council of Europe and other organisations.

? Which types of issues are most likely to raise the interest of members ofyour group?

Formal and non-formal educational settingsThe most appropriate way of involving participants and structuring an educational process dependsto a large extent upon the setting in which an educator is working. You may have more or lessfreedom regarding content, timing and form of activity depending on whether you are operatingwithin a formal, informal or non-formal educational context.The activities presented in this manualhave been designed to be flexible enough for use in all such contexts: within youth clubs, schools,summer camps, informal meetings, and so on.

Informal education refers to the lifelong process, whereby every individual acquiresattitudes, values, skills and knowledge from the educational influences and resources in his orher own environment and from daily experience (family, neighbours, marketplace, library, massmedia, work, play, etc.).

“Education is what surviveswhen what has been learnedhas been forgotten”

B. F. Skinner

Formal education refers to the structured education system that runs from primary schoolto university, and includes specialised programmes for technical and professional training.

Non-formal education refers to any planned programme of personal and social educationfor young people designed to improve a range of skills and competencies, outside the formaleducational curriculum.

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Non-formal education as practised by many youth organisations and groups is :§ voluntary;§ accessible to everyone (ideally);§ an organised process with educational objectives;§ participatory and learner-centred;§ about learning life skills and preparing for active citizenship;§ based on involving both individual and group learning with a collective approach;§ holistic and process-oriented;§ based on experience and action, and starts from the needs of the participants.Formal, non-formal and informal education are complementary and mutually reinforcing

elements of a lifelong learning process. This manual has not been designed as a ‘course’ in HRE,and the individual activities can usefully be applied in very different contexts, in formal or lessformal settings, and on a regular or irregular basis.

HRE as a starting point for action

At the core of human rights education is the development of critical thinking and the ability tohandle conflict and take action. We have included among the aims of this manual the encouragementof solidarity-based activities and the organisation of events in the community, both because theseare important for the development of skills and abilities closely connected with HRE, and becausethey are in themselves a means towards the end of developing a positive human rights culture.Young people can make a direct difference to the world around them, and this has been animportant theme in the manual. We have included an individual section on taking action (Chapter3) which provides a series of simple ideas for community activities related to human rights.

In addition to this section, each of the activities in Chapter 2 has been designed with theaim of helping to develop certain key skills useful for organising and carrying out actions in thecommunity. We have tried to adopt a pluralistic approach and a learning-by-doing perspective,in line with, for example, the Council of Europe’s Education for Democratic Citizenship (EDC)project recommendations. Here, HRE is presented as a daily practice that should be based onexperiential learning and learning-by-doing, with the aim of mobilising competencies andinitiatives in a continuing and changing process.

The following recommendations for educational policies are drawn from “Education fordemocratic citizenship: a lifelong learning perspective”, and are intended to support thisspontaneous process of change:

§ directly involving practitioners in designing, monitoring, implementing and evaluatingtheir own educational innovations;

§ encouraging the solving of concrete social issues, using the know-how and practicalexperiences of reflective practitioners;

§ promoting bottom-up educational change;§ working towards greater autonomy of educational agents so that they can work out specific

forms of action and linkage with the local community, civil society and social partners;§ encouraging networking, joint projects and activities, as well as communication

between practitioners and decision makers.

“learning [is]…a process that isnot only related to the function

of school or other organisededucational settings. This

conception of learning is basedupon the idea and observationthat a considerable number of

our meaningful learningexperiences happen outside the

formal education system: inworkplaces, families, differentorganisations and libraries…”

Dr. Pasi Sahlberg in BuildingBridges for Learning - The

Recognition and Value of Non-Formal Education in Youth

Activity.

“Never be afraid to raise yourvoice… against injustice andlying and greed. If people allover the world… would do

this, it would change theearth.”

William Faulkner


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International support for HRE

The Council of Europe

For the Member States of the Council of Europe, human rights are meant to be more than justassertions: human rights are part of their legal framework, and should therefore be an integralpart of young people’s education. The European nations made a strong contribution to thetwentieth century’s most important proclamation of human rights, the Universal Declarationof Human Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December1948. The European Convention on Human Rights, which has legal force for all member statesof the Council of Europe, drew its principles and inspiration from the UN document, and wasadopted two years later.

Recommendation No R (85) 7 to the Member States of the Council of Europe (adopted bythe Committee of Ministers on 14 May 1985) is related to teaching and learning about humanrights in schools. This document emphasises that all young people should learn about humanrights as part of their preparation for life in a pluralistic democracy; and this approach is slowlybeing incorporated into different European countries and institutions.

At the level of the European Union, at a meeting in Luxembourg in December 1997, theEuropean Council recommended that all states should work towards:

§ strengthening the role of civil society in promoting and protecting human rights;§ promoting activities on the ground and developing technical assistance in the area of

human rights;§ strengthening training and education programmes concerning human rights.

Youth Policy

In April 1998, the European Ministers responsible for Youth met in Bucharest, and agreed onthe aims and objectives of the Council of Europe youth policy3 :

§ to encourage associative life and all other forms of action which embody democracy andpluralism, and to help all young people to participate more fully in the life of the community;

§ to adapt current partnership patterns to social change and to other types of youthorganisations and youth work which have so far been under-represented, and furtherdevelop the concept of active participation by young people;

§ to take full advantage of the valuable contribution which young people can make asactive, responsible citizens;

§ to develop citizenship education projects which make it possible to involve young peoplemore quickly and more effectively in the life of the community, while respecting differences;

§ to implement, from local to European level, an inter-sectoral, integrated and coherentyouth policy, based on the principles of the European Convention for the Protectionof Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the European Social Charter.

United Nations

In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly officially proclaimed 1995-2004 theUnited Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. This followed a recommendation at the

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1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, which stated that human rights education,training and public information were essential for the promotion and achievement of stableand harmonious relations among communities and for fostering mutual understanding, toleranceand peace. The Vienna Conference had recommended that States should “strive to eradicateilliteracy and should direct education towards the full development of the human personalityand the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms”. It had called onall States and institutions to include human rights, humanitarian law, democracy and rule of lawas subjects in the curricula of all learning institutions in formal and non-formal settings. The UNDecade has taken up that challenge.

UNESCO

One other area of relevance is the increasingly multicultural and multi-faith nature of modernsocieties. The importance of “learning to live together” within and across different societies iscentral to the whole idea of education - the “necessary utopia” that was recommended by the1996 UNESCO report about education in the twenty-first century4 . Human rights lie at thecore of the concept outlined in the UNESCO report – for example, in the ability to mediateconflict and to find common perspectives in analysing problems and planning future directions.Facilitation of non-violent change is of fundamental importance and of urgent concern bothwithin and between societies. It should occupy a central role in educational efforts.

ReferencesDr. Pasi Sahlberg, Building Bridges for Learning - The Recognition and Value of Non-Formal Education in Youth

Activity, study for the National Board of Education (Finland) and for the European Youth Forum, European YouthForum, December 1999.

Staying Alive, Information paper of the European Youth Forum for the General Assembly, 2000.Chisholm, Lynne, Towards a revitalisation of non-formal learning for a changing Europe, Report of the symposium on non-

formal education, Council of Europe Directorate of Youth and Sport, 2000.

“Human history becomes moreand more a race between

education and catastrophe.”

H.G. Wells


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HRE and OtherEducation Fields

A human rights worldHuman rights affect every aspect of our lives. Indeed, violations of human rights lie at the rootof almost every problem in the world today: violence, poverty, globalisation, the environment,economic inequality, and lawlessness. Not to mention the wars and conflicts that are destroyingparts of the globe.

Although human rights, in their original conception, were broadly confined to the civil andpolitical spheres, it is now acknowledged that they must embrace social, cultural, and economicissues as well. Today, people even speak of a third generation of rights that takes into accountcollective rights and issues concerning future generations of mankind. All of this has significantimplications for the work we do as educators: it means that education dealing with such issuesas globalisation, the environment, peace and intercultural relations, among others, are all formsof human rights education. They deal with human rights issues and they attempt to build aculture that respects them.

? What have been the main changes in your country over the last 20 years inthe area of human rights?

In this manual we try to address the full spectrum of issues connected with human rights. Weshall look, in this chapter, at the way in which many, if not most, of these issues are relevant toother fields of education – such as development education, peace education, environmentaleducation, education for citizenship, and so on. Anyone who is engaged in one or other ofthese forms of education should find questions of relevance within these pages.

What is a “human rights issue”?Almost any question concerning violations of rights may be termed a human rights issue. Theinternational community now recognises three different “generations” of rights, which coverdifferent dimensions of human activity:

First generation rights (Liberty rights)

These include the civil and political rights – such as the right to freedom of expression, freedomof association, the right to life, to a fair trial, to participation in the political life of society, and soon. These issues (though not only these issues) are traditionally addressed in the formal educationsector through citizenship education, civic education, political education /education fordemocracy or law-related education.

Second generation rights (Equality rights)

These include the social, economic and cultural rights – such as the right to an adequate standardof living, to work, to join a trade union, to health and to education. Within the formal education

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sector, at least, these areas are often neglected. Economics education, for example, rarelydeals with such issues - although arguably it should do. The issues are sometimes addressed bythe “hidden curriculum” – that is, by many of the less formal activities carried out by schools oryouth groups, or the work done in tutor groups or personal, social and health education.There is, however, increasing recognition that second generation rights are just as relevant tocitizenship as the traditionally accepted first generation rights – and rightly so.

Third generation rights (Solidarity rights)

These rights are also known as “emerging” rights, because they are still in the process of beingacknowledged and recognised. They refer to the collective rights of society or peoples – suchas the right to sustainable development, to peace, or to a healthy environment. There areincreasing educational areas that look specifically at these rights – for example, environmentaleducation, peace education and development education.

(More information about the different generations of rights can be found in Chapter 4)

? Have any of the issues that you have explored with your group been humanrights issues?

Issues covered in the manualThis manual has been structured around 16 human rights-related issues, each of which can beseen to be directly relevant to one or more of the different generations of rights.

§ General human rights§ Children§ Citizenship§ Democracy§ Discrimination and Xenophobia§ Education§ Environment§ Gender equality

§ Globalisation§ Health§ Human security§ Media§ Peace and Violence§ Poverty§ Social rights§ Sport

None of these themes is any more important than the others. Indeed, these themes are infact interrelated to such an extent that addressing any one of them provides a common linkwith any other. This is a direct consequence of the fact that human rights are indivisible,interdependent and interrelated: they cannot be treated in isolation, because all are connectedone with another, in various different and intimate ways.

The diagram on the following page provides one illustration of this interdependence. There areothers that we could have shown: the circle round the outside could have been reordered almostrandomly and connections still be identified. The issues in the outer circle blend into one another,just as the educational spheres in the central circle merge together. Even the distinctions betweenfirst, second and third generation rights is not clear-cut. Education, for example, is traditionallyclassed as a second generation right, but education is just as necessary for effective politicalparticipation (a first generation right) as it is for sustainable development (a third generation right).

Accordingly, the following analyses should be seen as just one description among many, butthey help to illustrate the ways in which the various themes are relevant to many of the currenteducational fields, and how these educational fields overlap with one another.

“The rights of all men arediminished when the rights of

one man are threatened.”

John Kennedy


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Citizenship EducationCitizenship education encourages the development of young people as active and responsiblecitizens. In 1997, The Council of Europe established the Education for Democratic Citizenshipproject (EDC), and the June 2000 report for this project emphasises the importance of socialjustice and equality of rights for citizenship. T.H.Marshall, in his book Citizenship and Social Class(Cambridge University Press, 1950), suggests that citizenship can only be effective when it ensuresaccess to three main types of rights. In this way, he identifies three components of citizenship:

§ the civil component, which includes the rights addressing individual freedom;§ the political component - e.g. the right to participate in the exercise of political power

and to vote and participate in parliamentary institutions;§ The social component of citizenship, which relates to the right to the prevailing standard of

living and equal access to education, health care, housing and a minimum level of income.

Personal and Social EducationMany countries have some form of education that considers the role of the individual insociety and helps to prepare young people for some of the personal challenges that they willmeet. This may overlap with citizenship issues but may also include aspects of the individual’slife related to leisure – including sport, clubs and associations, music, art, or other forms ofculture. Such education may also be concerned with personal relationships. Human rightsenter into these questions in two central ways: firstly, because personal development andpersonal relations possess moral and social aspects that need to be guided by human rightsvalues; secondly, because the right to take part in cultural life is recognised in the UDHR aswell as in other international treaties. Even if the young people with whom you work areable to claim this right, there are young people around the globe who are not.

“Everyone has the right freelyto participate in the cultural lifeof the community, to enjoy thearts and to share in scientificadvancement and its benefits.”

UDHR, Article 27

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Values Education / Moral Education

Values education is also a common part of the school curriculum in different countries, but it oftengives rise to two fundamental concerns in people’s minds: which values such education should aim toteach, and how we can be sure that these values are not merely relevant to our own particularculture? These are common problems faced by many who engage in this area of education, andhuman rights provide a convenient means of addressing it. Human rights are not only based on valuesthat are common to every major religion and culture, but they are also admitted to be universal byalmost every country in the world. No-one can be criticised for teaching human rights values!

Global EducationGlobalisation is an issue at the front of many young people’s minds, and we have included it asone of the separate themes within this manual. The general heading of global education normallycovers work that looks at different forms of existence and patterns of behaviour around theglobe. Such education is important because it looks at the individual’s place not just in his orher own community or society, but in the world as a whole. It can be used to raise a number ofquestions connected with human rights and can help to open people‘s eyes to violations ofrights being committed in different reaches of the globe. Global education enables young peopleto assess the impact of their own actions and to consider their individual responsibilities.

The Institute of Global Education, a non-profit United Nations Non-GovernmentalOrganisation, was founded in 1984 as The World Peace University. The Institute declares its goalas “to help co-create a world where peace and food sufficiency are a way of life, whereenvironmental responsibility exists, where social justice prevails and where an individual achievesthe highest degree of self-realisation within a community of co-operation.”

Intercultural EducationThere is a natural connection between global education and intercultural education, whichlooks at the way we interact with other cultures, societies and social groupings. All societiestoday are characterised by increasing levels of multiculturalism and cultural diversity and thismakes acknowledgement of, and respect for, the rights of minorities increasingly important.We are being forced to reassess old conceptions of national societies as culturally homogeneousentities: the dual processes of European integration, together with increased economic andsocial interdependence between different world regions have made such notions outdated.Even in those parts of the globe which are not experiencing patterns of immigration, existingconflicts can more often than not be traced back to a lack of understanding between differentpeoples or ways of life to be found in one common society. The conflicts in Northern Ireland,in the former Yugoslavia and in parts of the Caucasus are sad illustrations of the problems thatcan arise from an inability to respect and live with other cultures.

Intercultural education is also an effective way of addressing the modern phenomena ofracism and racial discrimination and intolerance.All different, but not indifferent!

The Directorate of Youth and Sport, especially through the European Youth Centres andFoundation, has devoted much effort to the field of intercultural education. The ‘All Different AllEqual’ campaign against racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism and intolerance was set up to address

“The greatest evil today isindifference. To know and not

to act is a way of consenting tothese injustices. The planet has

become a very small place.What happens in other

countries affects us.”

Elie Wiesel


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the growth of racist hostility and intolerance towards minority groups. The Campaign itself soughtto “bring people together and give extra momentum to the struggle against all forms of intolerance.”

The education pack, ‘All Different All Equal’, was produced in order to help youth workers andeducators to contribute to the campaign. It identified two major directions for intercultural education:

§ helping young people to gain the capacity to recognise inequality, injustice, racism,stereotypes and prejudices, and

§ giving them the knowledge and the abilities which will help them to challenge and totry to change these whenever they have to face them in society.

The objectives and principles of intercultural education have also been pursued in a varietyof ways through intercultural learning - a term that is more commonly used in non-formaleducation, particularly in European youth work.

“Intercultural educationproposes processes to enablethe discovery of mutualrelationships and thedismantling of barriers.”

‘All Different - All Equal’Education Pack

Anti-racist education

Anti-racist education takes as its starting point the assertion that we live in a multi-cultural anddemocratic society, in which all citizens have a right to equity and justice. Nevertheless, it recognisesthe very real existence of racism and racist attitudes in every modern society, and the impact thatthis can have for black pupils – both in terms of giving them a negative experience of the educationprocess and in terms of diminishing their chances in later life. Anti-racist education attempts toaddress racist behaviour, language and practices, both individual and institutional, and to increasegeneral awareness of the harmful effects of racism in modern society. It aims to help in the creationof a multi-racial and interdependent society in which all citizens’ rights are respected and protected.

Development EducationDevelopment education has strong links with global education, but gives particular emphasisto third generation rights – such as sustainable development, the right to a healthy environment,and peace. It also gives high priority to issues concerning the interaction of different societiesand methods of development, which is why we have created a link in the diagram withintercultural education. Development education is thus holistic, in the sense that it is basedupon a view of the world as one interconnected whole, and it is oriented towards the future.

The Development Education Association is a British organisation that has been working foralmost 10 years in this field. They define development education as lifelong learning that:

§ explores the links between people living in the “developed” countries of the Northwith those of the “developing” South, enabling people to understand the linksbetween their own lives and those of people throughout the world

§ increases understanding of the economic, social, political and environmental forceswhich shape our lives

§ develops the skills, attitudes and values which enable people to work together totake action to bring about change and take control of their own lives.

“Education should further theappropriate intellectual andemotional development of theindividual. It should develop asense of social responsibilityand of solidarity with lessprivileged groups and shouldlead to observance of theprinciples of equality ineveryday conduct.”

UNESCO Recommendationconcerning education forinternational understanding,co-operation and peace andeducation relating to humanrights and fundamental freedoms

Environmental EducationThe search for methods of sustainable development forms one of the key aims of developmenteducation, and leads naturally to concerns about the future state of the environment. Fromthis perspective, questions concerning further economic development - particularly of

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developing countries – need to be balanced against their cost to mankind and the naturalworld as a whole. Environmental education aims to bring these questions to public attention,and to encourage greater care and respect for the natural resources of the world.

That also links in with human rights concerns. Since the life of mankind is dependent on ahealthy and sustainable environment, consideration for the human rights of people throughoutthe globe, and of future generations, brings environmental issues to the forefront. Today, somepeople even speak of the need for official recognition of a separate environmental human right.

Peace EducationThe natural resources of this world have not been equally distributed. They have been, and nodoubt will continue to be, one source of violent conflict between different individuals andsocieties. There are, unfortunately, many others. Peace educators may be interested in moreequitable or more sensible ways of sharing the earth’s resources as a means of resolving someof the conflicts in the world, but their focus is likely to be primarily on the conflicts themselvesand more particularly on their structural causes. Peace education is based on a concept ofpeace that goes beyond the mere absence of war: peace can only be addressed by means of asearch for justice and by understanding structural forms of exploitation and injustice.

Few people will need to be convinced of the need for peace education - for a betterunderstanding of conflict, for respect among peoples that makes violent conflict less likely, andfor the skills to transform potentially dangerous situations into peaceful ones. The world needsthat: a genuine right to life for everyone, and a genuine respect for everyone – including, even,those among us who have made mistakes. Education for tolerance, for intercultural understanding,and fundamentally, education in the inherent and universal nature of basic human rights must bean important route towards that aim.

The period 2001-2010 has been declared the International Decade for a Culture of Peaceand Non-Violence for the Children of the World (UN Doc A/RES/53/25). The InternationalPeace Research Association, which was set up with support from UNESCO, has a PeaceEducation Commission that brings together educators working to promote a culture of peace.

Law-related EducationThis is perhaps the most “formal” of the different education fields we have discussed so far,but law-related education is not just learning about the laws that exist, it is also about developingrespect for the rule of law and for the fundamental principles of justice that are laid out in theinternational human rights treaties.

The connection between law-related education and human rights can be made at twoseparate levels: firstly, in the specific ‘legal’ rights that protect the individual against unfair trials,but secondly at the level of international law. The UN institutions, the European Court ofHuman Rights and other regional structures are legal institutions that exist to protect ourhuman rights, but we need to know about them and we need to use them, if they are to beeffective in this aim. They will not hunt us out.

“There is no way to peace.Peace is the way.”

M. K. Gandhi


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Using COMPASSacross Europe

What and where is Europe?Historians will remind us that at its origin, in Ancient Greece, “Europe” probably referred to whatis today the Balkans. Today, Europe is far more extensive, but it is certainly no easier to define.

Political Europe covers a land mass of over 10 million square kilometres, and extends intothe territory of geographical Asia. The climate over the entire continent ranges from sub-tropical in some southern regions to polar in northern ones. Europe is the source of over 200living languages and the home of speakers of many more. It embraces some 50 states, whichcontain between them a total population of nearly 800 million.

Every major religion is to be found within its borders. The continent is associated with thebirth of democracy and, at the same time, with some of the worst examples of fascism andtotalitarianism that the world has ever seen. Europe’s past is marked by the Holocaust, bycolonialism and by slavery, and today it provides the location for enough nuclear weapons towipe out all life on earth. Yet, it hosts the annual ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize, and ithas established a permanent court of human rights, which is acclaimed throughout the world.

The countries of Europe

Today, the states that make up Europe include some that are less than 10 years old, and otherswhose borders have barely changed over hundreds of years. Some continue to change eventoday, as conflicts threaten unstable borders. Thus, there are people in Europe leading livesthat face violence and conflict on a daily basis, while many others, in one and the same continent,reside in conditions of peace, security, and often prosperity.

? What makes a country ‘European’?

There are millionaires in every European country; and millions living below the poverty line inevery country. There is diversity within each country, and diversity between them. Become ateacher in one part of Europe and you may receive more in a day than colleagues in other partsreceive in a month. Become a teacher in another region and you may not receive a salary at all,for months on end.

Europe is indeed a mixed place.

One Europe? Two Europes…?

Can we say there is an Eastern Europe and a Western Europe to make things simpler? ANorthern and Southern Europe? What about Central Europe?

Can we divide it into a Christian Europe and a Muslim Europe?Or a rich Europe and a poor Europe …a peaceful and a war-torn Europe … a democratised

Europe and one damaged by totalitarianism…a left-wing and a right-wing, an Americanisedand a Sovietised Europe?

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? Which “part” of Europe do you belong to ? Are you “typical” of that part ofEurope?

If any of these divisions seem correct, or at least helpful in identifying particular needs ondifferent sides of the division, then consider how some of the following groups might ‘fit’under such general categories. Would their needs correspond to the ‘stereotypical’ needs ofthe country or part of Europe in which they happen to be living?

§ Businessmen in the Balkans§ Bengali communities in East London§ People suffering terrorist violence in the Basque country or Northern Ireland§ Hill farmers dependent on the climate in Spain, Italy, Romania and Georgia§ Roma populations in Hungary, Slovakia, Greece or France§ Islamophobes or anti-Semites in Germany, Russia, Lithuania, Sweden, Poland, and

every other country of the continent§ Fishing communities in Scotland, Norway, Croatia or Estonia§ Immigrant workers in Belgium and Finland§ Refugees and asylum-seekers in Ukraine or Poland;§ Muslims, politicians, human rights activists, teachers, youth leaders, short people,

bald men, women with children and women without.Such examples show us that not one of the proposed divisions is clear cut or adequate to

describe the multi-faceted nature of every single country, community and, indeed, individual.There are some common needs throughout the whole of Europe, but there are equally differentneeds within each small community in every individual state . Europe, and each single countrythat composes it, is a small world of cultural and social diversity.

A book for Europe?So why create one manual for the whole of Europe? Can it be sufficient to meet the needs ofall the peoples in this rich and mixed continent?

This section sets out some answers to those questions and the ways that we approached someof the difficulties that we faced. It also tries to illustrate our reasons for believing that such a task wasnot only realistic but even necessary. Europe, after all, not only has a very diverse culture but alsomany points of commonality. To find those points of commonality and thereby understand ourdifferences can be as important as the task of preserving our very separate identities.

? Have you had contact with other youth groups in different parts of Europe?What did your groups have in common?

Human rights as a common factor

The idea of human rights lies at both the historical and the ideological foundation of the Council ofEurope and is just one of those points of commonality running through the whole of Europe. It isnot, of course, exclusive to Europe, but it is certainly one of the most important uniting and unifyingfactors, and with the increased membership of the Council of Europe, it will become ever more so.

Every country that has signed up for membership has also committed itself to observe thefundamental rights and freedoms set out in the European Convention on the Protection of

“…they first came for thecommunists;

I did not speak because I wasnot a communist. Then they

came for the Jews;I did not speak because I was

not a Jew.Then they came to fetch theworkers, members of trade

unions;I was not a trade unionist.

Afterward, they came for theCatholics;

I did not say anything because Iwas a Protestant. Eventuallythey came for me, and there

was no-one left to speak.”

Pastor Martin Niemoller


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Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. This means, for the ordinary citizen of the differentEuropean states, that those rights and freedoms are, to some extent at least, protected by theentire community of European states.

But even with the existence of the European Court of Human Rights, protection of thosehuman rights can only be real and substantial for every citizen when each individual helps to playan active role in their observance. Citizens need to know about the existence of those rights,they need to be able to defend them when they are violated, and they need to respect them intheir everyday lives. This is the task of education, and it is a task for the whole of Europe.

Citizens of the world

Knowing how to stand up for and protect our own rights is important but it cannot be thewhole story. We have taken the view in this manual that human rights are a global issue and thatthe youth of Europe, as citizens of the world, need to appreciate this if human rights are to berespected not just in our part of the world but everywhere on our common earth.

Of course every country in Europe has its own work to do on improving the protection of itscitizens’ rights. There is not one country that has a clean record on human rights abuses, howeverhuman rights education is crucially about not only our rights but also the rights of other people.Thus, while one task of this manual is to promote a greater awareness of rights issues in orderthat young people (in Europe) be better able to improve their own immediate rightsenvironment, another task is to encourage them to take an interest in those issues in the widerworld, and to consider the actual and possible impact of their own behaviour.

Young people across the world and particularly across Europe have always given themselvesgenerously to the cause of human rights and human rights education. In times of fascism andtotalitarianism, it was often young people and students who were at the forefront of protests andactions against repression and oppression; and youth organisations and associations have alwaysplayed a crucial role in bringing young people from Europe closer together, and in standing up fortheir rights. The work of international non-governmental youth organisations has often involvedforging links and building solidarity among young people – both in Europe and outside it. Suchwork rests on the ideals of solidarity, co-operation, peace and human rights.

It is time to extend these experiences and this work to other young people in Europe andto build an appreciation of human rights issues both in this continent and beyond. There needsto be a greater understanding of the way in which our actions can assist the protection ofhuman rights for fellow human beings. That, too, is a task for the whole of Europe.

A European DreamOf course no-one wants the different countries and cultures of Europe to lose their separateidentities. However in producing this manual, we were motivated by the fact that not one ofthe cultures of Europe – or indeed, of the world – is inherently opposed to, or need be alteredto its detriment by, a flourishing human rights culture. In fact, these values exist in every countryalready, and the cultures will only thrive if they are strengthened (so that everyone can havethe opportunity to contribute to them positively).

There was another hope. We hoped that common interests and a common endeavourcould contribute towards the bringing together of young people on our common continent, tohelp them see each other as equals, sharing a common reality and being jointly responsible for

Injustice anywhere is a threatto justice everywhere.

Martin Luther King

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the future of the continent: perhaps Siberia could link up with Portugal in protecting the rightsof women; perhaps young people in Albania and Luxembourg could build a common web-siteto focus the world’s attention on child labour; or perhaps schools in Malta and Denmark couldplan a simultaneous street action to focus on bullying in schools in different countries.

Young people care, and they can lead the way. They can refute those who criticise theirindividualism and their apathy – just as other generations have for centuries, and they canprove those wrong who insist that there is no alternative, and put new energy into the peacefulstruggle for human rights around the world. Young people are not just the target groups forthis manual: they are its main hope and its main resource.

Youth work and youth representationAlthough the activities in this manual are intended to be appropriate for use in formal educationalsettings, it was our intention to produce a publication that could be used primarily by youthworkers outside the formal education system. Clearly the nature and extent of such work maydiffer from one country to another. However, by proposing different types of methods andexploring different themes, we aimed to address the different needs of the diverse youthgroups and associations existing in every European country. For after-school clubs, Scoutsgroups, church youth groups, university clubs, human rights groups and exchange clubs, therange of activities covered in the pack ought to provide something of relevance and use, inaddition to being applicable to people working in more formal settings.

The main focus of youth work is the personal and social development of young people, andfor that reason the majority of activities in the pack perhaps pay more attention to theseaspects than to the traditional educational end of increasing knowledge. It was important inputting together the activities to concentrate on attracting the interest of young people inthese issues, and to use experiential learning to engender feelings of respect for human rights,particularly among those who do not necessarily respond to attempts made in this directionwithin the formal education system.

? Do you use experiential learning in your work?

In educational settings and institutions where teaching methods are more knowledge-based thanexperiential or skills-based, such an approach may be less familiar. For that reason, we have provideduseful starting points and essential background information on the educational approaches of thismanual (see the chapter “How to use the Manual”). We see this as an important part of ensuring thatthe manual is accessible not only to young people everywhere in Europe, but also to teachers andgroup facilitators or youth workers who may be less familiar with certain working methods.

In a modest way, we hope that this manual may help to bridge the methodological gapsbetween formal and non-formal education. In both contexts, it is essential to involve the youngpeople whose attention is sought – all the more so, in an area such as human rights whereactive involvement and participation are essential factors. Because of their inclusive nature,each of the activities included within the manual is intended to provide an interesting andattractive way for young people to become more aware of general human rights issues, in anytype of environment.

? How do you involve young people in your activities?

“Perseverance is moreprevailing than violence; and

many things which cannot beovercome when they are

together yield themselves upwhen taken little by little.”

Plutarch


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One further focus has been the attempt to enable young people to make their own positivecontribution to the issues that concern them, and for that reason we have also included a sectionon Taking Action. In this respect, it is worth noting that most of the suggestions in this section arenot by any means exclusive to human rights ‘activism’, in the sense that they are mostly normalyouth activities that many groups will already be undertaking in fields other than that of humanrights. They are the type of activities that every young person is interested in taking part in.

The Convention on the Rights of the ChildAll European countries have signed and ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,and have thereby undertaken an obligation to observe it, and to report regularly on progressbeing made towards fulfilling the rights completely. The Convention is relevant to this manualpartly because of the age range of the target group – although the manual is also intended toappeal to people above the 18-year-old upper limit of the Convention.

However, the Convention also deserves a particular mention in terms of the methodologyof the manual. At the heart of the Convention, and incorporated into several of its articles (inparticular, Articles 3 and 12), is the idea that young people have the right to express their viewsand to have them taken into account, in all matters that affect them. This idea has reacheddifferent stages of realisation in different European countries: in some there are genuineopportunities for young people to participate in the decisions that directly affect them; inothers, the process is less developed.

? Is there a copy of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in your schoolor in your association?

Clearly, the opportunities that already exist will determine to some extent the degree to whichyoung people are able to influence decisions, and also the advisability of undertaking certainactions rather than others. The overall objective, however, of treating young people as people,worthy of genuine respect and equal in that sense to other members of the adult populationremains valid for every part of Europe.

The production processThe Production Team of COMPASS was composed of 8 people, and had to produce the

background materials and design the activities for the manual. As is often the case, the teamwas put to test during the production phase, which was naturally challenging - not least, becausethe deadlines were very tight. In order to ensure the maximum exchange of differentexperiences, each writer produced texts that had to be checked and approved by two otherwriters. Similarly, each theme or chapter was always shared between at least two people.

The Production Team represented Europe, at least in its total internal diversity. Memberscame from North, South, East and West (and from the centre). Our histories, traditions,languages, dress and taste in music clashed and overlapped alternately. We wanted slightlydifferent things, or to do them in a slightly different way – because each of us knew better thanthe rest the needs of his or her own country.

“Young people are not only thefuture … we are the present.”

Statement of children and youngpeople at the Europe and CentralAsia consultation for the SpecialSession on the Rights of theChild, Budapest 2001.

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Yet none of us knew the needs of everyone – not even in their own country, and this, afterall, was why each of us was necessary, and all of us were insufficient.

One member of the Reference Group, living in one of the ex-communist states, remarkedearly on that countries in Western Europe are concerned with the rights of minorities; whereascountries in our part of Europe are concerned with the rights of the majority. Some people disagreedwith that as well: they felt ‘their part’ of Europe did not fall into either stereotype. Others feltthat that was one generalisation which - like many generalisations - possibly contained an elementof truth. We tried to take it into account. But the point may equally well have been made byevery one of us in a slightly different way: ‘People in Southern Europe / Muslim Europe / ruralareas / capital cities / war-torn Europe… are concerned with…’

The remark reminded us, however, that despite our common aims, the differences betweenour cultures were no less significant than the differences between us, their representatives.We left the process with the same hopes and aspirations that the issues which concerned all ofus could – and should – concern others as well, wherever they were living, because thesewere indeed issues for the whole world. But we also left the process wondering about theextent to which we had managed to cover the whole of Europe adequately. But that,after all,would have been an impossible task.

Using the manual across cultures andlanguagesThere are two central problems concerned with designing a manual for such a wide audience.The first is the problem of over-generality: that activities may not be specific enough to addressthe particular concerns of certain groups or populations. The second, conversely, is the problemof their touching too specifically certain issues that either do not appear to be relevant to all ofthe target countries, or are too sensitive to raise in some of them.

The issues that we have included in the manual are certainly relevant and of direct concernto all human beings, wherever their geographical location. Nevertheless, it may still be thecase that the way that some issues are presented or some activities are developed are lesssuitable for certain groups and facilitators. The task of the facilitators or group leaders, in suchcases, is not simply to reproduce or follow blindly the instruction, but to identify where thereis need for improvement, adaptation or updating to the specific context. The general guidelinesgiven bellow may be of assistance in this task.

This manual should be seen as a starting point, a living educational tool that is open to ideas,adaptation and any suggestions for improvement.

Guidelines for adaptation:

§ Where issues are controversial within your society, or where they are likely toprovoke resistance from people in authority, consider whether it is possible to lookat the issue in the framework of a different society or in a historical setting, withoutnecessarily drawing explicit comparisons to current practices. Conversely, if an issueis controversial or divisive, you may even wish to work with that fact: encourageparticipants to research different points of view, and perhaps ask someone with aminority perspective for their opinion.


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§ If using the activities in a formal educational setting, where there are pressures onthe timetable and where content is of prime importance, you will probably want tomake more use of the background information or other information that you oryour students may find. You may also want to break up some activities (for example,over two days).

§ If there are limited opportunities for including human rights education within youreducational setting, there are plenty of ways of using some of the activities withinother subjects – such as Geography, History, Citizenship, Political Studies, and soon. You may want to adapt some of the activities accordingly.

§ If young people seem to think that certain issues are not of prime importance, orcannot see the relevance to their immediate situation, ask them to consider thisquestion directly, and to draw out the ways in which such an issue could affect theirown lives. All of the issues included within this manual are in fact of direct relevanceto all young people!

§ There may be activities where you feel that there is particular information that isrelevant to your group, or your society, or a particular approach that is more suitable.Be flexible about the different activities: allow participants to make suggestions,extend or limit the timing or the background information if this is appropriate, anduse the follow-up suggestions if the group is particularly interested in an issue.Sometimes, you may have to complete the information provided, or adapt it to yourown context.

§ Use your own judgement to assess the possible drawbacks of involving young peoplein any form of public action – for example, in tense social or political circumstances.

§ Involve the young people in any difficulties you are encountering, wherever this ispossible. They will appreciate the opportunity to express their opinions, and will bemore likely to understand any restrictions or limitations to which you may be subject.

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Trust them!

How to use COMPASSThere are many different ways of teaching and learning about human rights. How you approachthe topic will depend on whether you are working in the formal or non-formal sector, thepolitical, social and economic conditions of your country, the ages of the young people, andalso their interests and motivation to learn about human rights. It will also certainly depend onyour experience with human rights issues, on your own attitude and relation with the targetgroups and on your “learning style”.

You may be a youth worker, a trainer, schoolteacher or adult education tutor, a workshopfacilitator or a member of a church discussion group, or a young person who cares abouthuman rights. Whoever you are and wherever you are working, we trust there will be somethingfor you in this manual. We make no assumptions about teaching or training skills or about priorknowledge of human rights.

In this section we explain what we mean by participation and co-operative and experientiallearning and why we use these educational approaches. We indicate how you might use theactivities in formal and informal settings and try to give some answers to commonly askedquestions. In the section of tips for facilitators we describe how the activities are presentedand how to choose one. There are notes on discussions and group work, and on facilitatingactivities including debriefing and evaluation.

COMPASS should be seen as a flexible resource. Promoting human rights is an on-goingand creative process, of which you - as a user of this book - are an integral part. We hope youwill take the ideas that we have presented and use and develop them to meet your own needsand those of the young people you work with. We hope you will also review what you havelearned and give us feedback on your experiences, which we can incorporate into the nextedition of this manual. There is a feedback form on page 417.

How to work with the manualWe strongly suggest you begin by looking briefly through the whole manual to gain an overallpicture of the contents. There is no special starting point; we intend that you should pick andchoose the parts that are relevant for you.

In chapter 2 you will find 49 activities at different levels for exploring global themes andhuman rights. These are the tools for your work with young people. Chapter 5 containssupporting material. There is background information on the global issues, definitions of humanrights and information about their evolution. In addition, there are summaries of the maindeclarations and conventions on human rights, references and lists of further resources.

There should be enough material to enable you to begin work on HRE with young people.It is important to remember that you do not have to be an “expert” in human rights to start;having an interest in human rights is a sufficient qualification. Neither do you have to be aqualified teacher or trainer. However, you do need to understand our educational approach inorder to get the most out of the activities.


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Before you work with the activities it is important to understand the educational approacheswe have used. Human rights education is about education for change, both personal and social.It is about developing young people’s competence to be active citizens who participate in theircommunities to promote and protect human rights. Our focus is the educational process ofdeveloping knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. In this process we:

§ start from what people already know, their opinions and experiences and from thisbase enable them to search for, and discover together, new ideas and experiences.

§ encourage the participation of young people to contribute to discussions and tolearn from each other as much as possible.

§ encourage people to translate their learning into simple but effective actions thatdemonstrate their rejection of injustice, inequality and violations of human rights.

The knowledge, skills and attitudes of someone who is literate in human rights are described onpage 19. These competencies, especially the skills and values of communication, critical thinking,advocacy, tolerance and respect cannot be taught; they have to be learned through experience. Thisis why the activities in this book promote co-operation, participation and learning through experience.We aim to encourage young people to think, feel and act; to engage their heads, hearts and hands.Knowing about human rights is important, but not enough. It is necessary that young people have a fardeeper understanding about how human rights evolve out of people’s needs and why they have to beprotected. For instance, young people with no direct experience of racial discrimination may thinkthat the issue is of no concern to them. From a human rights perspective this position is not acceptable;people everywhere have a responsibility to protect the human rights of others.

It does not matter whether you are discussing the right to life or freedom of expression;human rights are about democratic values, respect and tolerance. These are skills and attitudeswhich can only be learned effectively in an environment - and through a process - that promotesthese values. This needs to be emphasised.

Co-operative learning

Co-operation is working together to accomplish shared goals. In co-operative learning people worktogether to seek outcomes that are beneficial both to themselves and to all members of the group.

Co-operative learning promotes higher achievement and greater productivity; more caring,supportive, and committed relationships; and greater psychological health, social competence,and self-esteem. This is in contrast to what happens when learning is structured in a competitiveway. Competitive learning promotes self-interest, disrespect for others and arrogance in thewinners who work against others to achieve a goal that only one or a few can attain, while thelosers often become demotivated and lose self-respect.

The essential components of co-operation are positive interdependence, face-to-faceinteraction, individual and group accountability and interpersonal skills. The most effectiveway of promoting co-operative learning is through structured group work.

Participation

Participation in HRE means that young people make the decisions about what and how they aregoing to learn about human rights. Through participation young people develop various competencies

It’s not just what you do, butthe way that you do it. That’swhat gets results.

The educational approaches

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including those of decision-making, listening, empathy with and respect for others, and takingresponsibility for their own decisions and actions. The teacher’s or trainer’s role is that of a facilitator,that is to “help” or “facilitate” young people’s participation in the learning process. In schools theremay be timetabling and curriculum constraints that determine how nearly the ideal of participationcan be achieved, and the activities will need to be adapted accordingly.

The activities in this manual demand participation. You have to be active and engaged; youcannot sit back and be a passive observer. In this respect the methodology used in this manualowes much to the work of Augusto Boal and other pioneers in non-formal awareness raising.

Possibly the single, most important task in human rights education is to find the spaces in whichyoung people can become active participants and influence the form and outcome of the activities.By definition, human rights education cannot be imposed; it is really up to each facilitator, educator,teacher, trainer or leader to find the moment to create the spaces and opportunities for participation.

Experiential learning

Human rights education in common with, for example, education for development, peaceeducation and education for citizenship uses a methodology of experiential learning based ona learning cycle with five phases:

Phase 1Experiencing

(activity, “doing”)

Phase 2Reporting (sharing reactions and

observations about what happened)

Phase 3Reflecting (discussing patternsand dynamics in order to gaininsights into the experience)

Phase 4Generalising (discussing patternsand how what people have learnt

relates to the “real world”)

In phase 5 people explore practical actions that might address the issue in question. It iscrucial that people find real opportunities for involvement. This is not only a logical outcome ofthe learning process but a significant means of reinforcing new knowledge, skills and attitudeswhich form the basis for the next round of the cycle.

Activities as tools for experiential learning

When you use the activities in the book you should bear the above learning cycle in mind.The activities demand participation and involvement so that the people doing them gain an

experience through which they learn not only with their heads but also with their hearts andhands. These sorts of activities are sometimes called “games” because they are fun and peopleplay them with enthusiasm. You should remember, however, that the activities or games are not

Phase 5Applying (using what they havelearnt, changing old behaviours)


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“just for fun”, but they are purposeful means to achieve educational aims.You don’t just “do” an activity (phase 1 of the learning cycle). It is essential to follow through

with debriefing and evaluation to enable people to reflect on what happened (phase 2), toevaluate their experience (phases 3 & 4) and to go on to decide what to do next (phase 5). Inthis way they come round to phase 1 of the next cycle in the learning process.

In a school setting, activities can help break down artificial barriers between subjects andprovide ways of extending links between subject and interest areas to promote a more holisticapproach to an issue. In a non-formal educational setting, activities can awaken interest inissues and, because they promote learning in a non-didactic way, they are often intrinsicallymore acceptable to young people.

Activities help people to:§ be motivated to learn because they are fun§ develop their knowledge, skills, attitudes and values. Games provide a safe environment

in which to do this because they allow people to experiment with new behaviourand to make errors without incurring the costs of similar mistakes in real life.

§ change. Activities are one way of conveying the message that everyone can chooseto change themselves or their relationships with others.

§ get involved. Activities encourage the participation of the less expressive and lessdominant group members.

§ take responsibility. Because participants contribute their own experiences and skills,each group uses the game at its own level and in its own way.

§ encourage self-reliance and improve self-confidence. Activities provide a structure thatcan be used to reduce dependency on the leader as the one who ‘knows it all’. Theparticipants are forced to accept some responsibility for making their part of theactivities work.

§ feel solidarity with others. Activities encourage cohesiveness in the group and a senseof group identity and solidarity.

Activities offer a framework and structure to group experiences which will allow you to workwithin the limits of your own and the young peoples’ experience and competencies. When carefullyfacilitated, activities are an effective method of learning within a task-orientated setting.

Facilitation

In this manual we use the word “facilitators” for the people who prepare, present and co-ordinate the activities. A facilitator is someone who helps people discover how much knowledgethey already have, who encourages them to learn more and helps them explore their ownpotential. Facilitation means creating an environment in which people learn, experiment, exploreand grow. It is a process of sharing, of giving and taking. It is not a question of one person, whois “an expert”, giving knowledge and skills to others. Everyone must grow through the sharingexperience, participants and facilitators alike.

Opportunities to be a facilitator for young people and to work in an atmosphere of equalityand mutuality differ across Europe, both between countries and within them. In the formaleducation sector we find differences in the aims and philosophy of education, techniques ofclassroom management and curricula. It is not common for pupils and students to decide whatthey want to learn within the framework of a broad curriculum nor for teachers to have afacilitating role, although there are exceptions. In the non-formal sector there are equally large

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variations not only in the aims and philosophies of the different organisations but also in theactivities and opportunities they offer. These differences are evident both between countriesand also within countries.

We all work within the educational and social norms of our own societies. It is easy tooverlook or forget the fact of our own ethnocentrism and, as a result, to take the way weinteract with young people for granted and normal. You may find it helpful to reflect on yourown style and practice in order to develop your facilitation skills.

Thinking, learning and teaching/training styles

We are all individuals and think and learn in different ways. We all use a mixture of styles buteach of has a preferred way of mentally representing the world around us (thinking style) anda preferred learning style. As facilitators we should be aware of this and use a variety ofmethodologies to excite the talents and interests of young people.

It must be stressed that the following are preferred styles; we all use all of the styles buteach of us has a preferred style. For more information, see the references to David Kolb’swork at the end of the chapter.

? Which of the following is your preferred style?

Summary of thinking styles

§ Visual people tend to mentally represent the world in pictures. They may use phraseslike “I see what you mean”.

§ Auditory people tend to remember more of what they hear and may use phrases like“That sounds like an interesting idea”.

§ Kinaesthetic people tend to remember things through feelings, both physical andemotional. They may use terms like “I love that idea, lets go for it”.

Summary of learning styles

§ Activists learn best from activities where there are new experiences, problems andopportunities from which to learn. They can engross themselves in games, teamworktasks and role-playing exercises. They enjoy the challenge of being thrown in at thedeep end. Activists react against passive learning, solitary work such as reading,writing and thinking on their own, and against the demands of attention to detail.

§ Reflectors learn best when they are allowed to think over an activity. They enjoy carryingout detailed research, reviewing what has happened and what they have learned.They react against being forced into the limelight, being given insufficient data onwhich to base a conclusion and having to take short cuts or carry out a superficial job.

§ Theorists learn best from activities where what they are learning about is part of asystem, model, concept or theory. They like being in structured situations with aclear purpose and dealing with interesting ideas and concepts. They do not necessarilyalways like having to participate in situations emphasising emotions and feelings.

§ Pragmatists learn best from activities where there is an obvious link between thesubject matter and a real problem, and when they are able to implement what theyhave learned. They react against learning that seems distant from reality, learningthat is “all theory and general principles”, and the feeling that people are goinground in circles without getting anywhere fast enough.


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Teaching/training styles

Different people have different styles and approaches to teaching and taining.. Your approachas facilitator will depend on your own values, beliefs and assumptions, your personality, pastexperience of training and being trained, and how confident you feel both working with youngpeople and handling human rights issues.

Theory X. Teachers/Trainers Theory Y. Teachers/Trainerswho think people: who think people:are basically lazy & don’t want want to learn & willto learn, are irresponsible direct themselvesmust be coerced are creativeneed discipline want to be consultedneed to be led want responsibility

trainer is in charge trainer seeks participation,plans inflexibly plans flexiblytalks at people trainer leads with consent

discipline/structure is imposed discipline/structure is by agreement

trainees instructed, people responsible for theirtold by the expert own learning

trainer gives answers to people encouraged to hold theirproblems, others’ views or own views and to seek theirsolutions to problems are own solutions to problems.right or wrong

These are obviously two extremes of training style at either end of a continuum. It shouldbe noted that it is the theory Y assumptions that are appropriate to HRE. The aims of HRE areto develop values of respect, equality, co-operation and democracy. These values can only bepromoted through a process which is itself inherently based on these values.

? Think back on your own experiences. What was it like to be taught by thesetwo extreme types of teachers?

Using COMPASS in formal and non-formal education

The educational approach and the types of activities described in this manual may seem easier to applyin the non-formal sector than in the formal sector. The curriculum in the non-formal sector tends tobe more open and focuses more on the personal and social development of young people. Also thestarting point of the work is the interests of the young people. It allows for greater participation andflexibility and for young people to get involved with human rights issues in a practical way.

In a non-formal educational setting your starting point could be a question about somethingthat is happening in your area or something that someone has seen on television. If you want totake the lead and stimulate people’s interest in human rights, suggest showing a film or video. Anexcellent guide to useful films is “Europe on Screen: Cinema and the teaching of history” byDominique Chancel (Council of Europe, January 2001). You can also put up posters or use picturesto stimulate spontaneous discussion, or have a music evening playing songs that call for people’sfreedom. You could then suggest going on to use one of the activities that explores generalhuman rights, such as “Where do you stand?” (page 254) or “Act it out” (page 86.)

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The curriculum in the formal sector is often bounded by an agreed set of knowledge, whichpupils and students have to acquire and be tested on. Personal and social development, whilerecognised as important, is not always the main focus in the way that acquiring knowledge as apreparation for future work or further study is. This does not preclude most of the activities in thismanual being adapted to fit into any curriculum subject in different classroom settings in schools andcolleges throughout Europe. In fact, many have been designed with a classroom setting in mind.

Problem solving and conflict resolution as a basis for HRE

Human rights issues are often controversial because different people have different value systemsand therefore see rights and responsibilities in different ways. These differences, which manifestthemselves as conflicts of opinion, are the basis of our educational work.

Two important aims of HRE are first, to equip young people with the skills of appreciating- but not necessarily agreeing with - different points of view about an issue, and second, to helpthem develop skills of finding mutually agreeable solutions to problems.

This manual and its activities are based on an understanding that conflicts of opinion can beused constructively for the learning process, provided that the facilitator feels confident inaddressing possible conflicts in a group. As in many non-formal educational activities, the purposeis not so much that everyone agrees with a given result but rather that the participants can alsolearn from that process (e.g. listening to each other, expressing themselves, respectingdifferences of opinion, etc.).

For example, the activity, “Play the Game” (page 194) specifically works with developingconflict resolution skills.

Common questions about Human RightsEducationThe following answers are short, but we hope they will answer some of the questions askedby people who are beginning to incorporate HRE into their work.

? Don’t young people need to learn about responsibility, rather than rights?

Answer: This manual places emphasis on both rights and responsibilities. The activities aredesigned to show that the relationship between an individual’s rights and other people’s rightsis not always clear cut, and that everyone has a responsibility to respect the rights of others.

? What if the participants ask a question I can’t answer?

Answer: No one should expect anyone to know all the answers to everything! It is perfectlyacceptable to say that you don’t know some particular facts and then involve the participants infinding the answers. You should always consider reflecting the question back to the group byasking: what do you think about this?

It is also important for everyone to remember that the answers to questions on humanrights are rarely simple. Complex moral questions cannot be answered with “yes” or “no”.From the educational viewpoint, raising the question is as important as finding an answer. Byintroducing complex issues and allowing young people to think about them, we equip youngpeople with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to deal with such questions later in life.


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? What do we do if we don’t have a photocopier or enough materials?

Answer: Many of the activities in this manual are designed so that they don’t need expensivematerials or a photocopier. However, for some activities you may have to copy role cards orfact sheets for group work by hand and make multiple copies using carbon paper. You will haveto be creative and find your own solutions.

? Won’t parents, school heads and community leaders oppose the teaching ofhuman rights as political indoctrination which will incite rebelliousbehaviour?

Answer: Human rights education develops citizens who are able to participate in society and inthe development of their country. It is important to distinguish between the development ofparticipation competencies and party politics. Human rights education through discussion andparticipation encourages young people to develop critical and enquiring minds and to behaverationally. In this respect, human rights education is also related to civic and political educationand it also allows young people to make the connections between human rights, social issues,education and policies. As a result, it may happen that young people do engage in local ornational political parties – as a result of their right to political participation and freedom ofthought, association and expression. But that should remain their own choice.

? Isn’t it the government’s responsibility to ensure that people have theopportunity to learn about human rights?

Answer: Member countries of the United Nations have an obligation to promote human rightseducation in all forms of learning. That is in formal, non-formal and informal education. Despitethis, many governments have done very little towards the promotion of human rights educationand the incorporation of human rights in the curricula. Individual educators and non-governmental organisations can do a lot to encourage the development of human rightseducation through their own or collaborative efforts in schools and other educationalprogrammes, and also by lobbying and putting pressure on their governments to fulfil theirobligations in this regard.

? What if there are no human rights violations in my country?

Human rights education is not only about violations. It is first of all about understandinghuman rights as a universal asset common to all human beings and about realising the needto protect them. In addition to this, no country can claim that there are no violations ofrights. One easy way to address reality is to look at the immediate social environment orcommunity. Who is excluded? Who lives in extreme poverty? Which children do not enjoytheir rights? Another way is to look at the role of your own country in the violation orpromotion of human rights in other countries (e.g. the environment and the right todevelopment, the arms trade, global poverty, etc.).

Tips for usersThis manual and its activities can be used at school in a classroom or in extra-curricular activities,in a training course or a seminar, at a summer camp or in a work camp or in a youth club orwith a youth group. They can also be used even if you work mostly with adults.

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How to choose an activity

You should choose an activity that is at the right level for you and your group and that will fitinto the time you have. Read the activity through carefully at least twice and try to imaginehow the group may react and some of the things they will say. Make sure you have all thematerials you will need. Check that there will be enough space, especially if the participantswill be breaking up for small-group work.

Again we emphasise that the instructions for each activity are only guidelines and you shoulduse the material in the way that suits your own needs. Indeed, it is not possible to write activitiesthat will exactly suit every situation across Europe. We expect you to adapt the activities. Forexample, you might take the basic idea from one activity and use a method from another.

Each activity is presented in a standard format. Icons and headings are used to make it easyto get an overview of the whole.

Key to symbols and headings used to present the activities

Level of complexity Levels 1-4 indicate the general level of competencies required toparticipate and/or the amount of preparation involved.

Themes The global themes that are addressed in the activity (e.g. poverty,environment, peace and violence, gender equality).

Overview Gives brief information about the type of activity and the issuesaddressed.

Related rights Rights addressed in the activity (e.g. the right to life or freedomof expression).

Group size How many people you need to do the activity.

Time The estimated time in minutes needed to complete the wholeactivity including the discussion. If the group size was “any”, thenthe time is estimated for a group of 15 people.

Objectives The objectives relate to the learning objectives of HRE in terms ofknowledge, skills, attitudes and values.

Materials List of equipment needed to run the activity.Preparation List of things the facilitator needs to do before starting.Instructions List of instructions for how to run the activity.Debriefing and Suggested questions to help the facilitator conduct the debriefingevaluation and evaluate the activity (phase 2-4 of the learning cycle, see page 40).Tips for facilitators Guidance notes. Things to be aware of. Where to get extra

information.Variations Ideas for how to adapt the activity for use in a different situations.Suggestions for Ideas for what to do next. Links to other activities.follow-upIdeas for action Suggestions for the next steps to take action.Key dates Commemorative dates related to human rights.Further information Extra background information relevant to the activity.Handouts Role cards, action pages, background reading material, discussion

cards, etc.


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Complexity

The activities are coded from level 1-4 to indicate the general level of competencies requiredto participate in experiential activities and the amount of preparation involved. In general, thetwo variables go together; level 1 activities need very little preparation while those at level 4activities need much more.

§ Level 1. These are short, simple activities mostly useful as starters. Energisers andicebreakers fall into this category. Nonetheless, these activities are of value in theway that they make people interact and communicate with each other.

§ Level 2. These are simple activities designed to stimulate interest in an issue. Theydo not require prior knowledge of human rights issues or developed personal orgroup work skills. Many of the activities at this level are designed to help peopledevelop communication and group work skills while at the same time stimulatingtheir interest in human rights.

§ Level 3. These are longer activities designed to develop deeper understanding andinsights into an issue. They demand higher levels of competency in discussion orgroup work skills.

§ Level 4. These activities are longer, require good group work and discussion skills,concentration and co-operation from the participants and also take longerpreparation. They are also more embracing in that they provide a wider and deeperunderstanding of the issues.

The global links

The activities in the manual are designed to encourage exploration of human rights and thelinks between rights and several global themes. Thus three “themes” are indicated in thedescription of each activity. The sixteen global themes are:

1. General humanrights

2. Children 3. Citizenship 4. Democracy

5. Discrimination and

Xenophobia

6. Education 7. Environment 8. Gender equality

9. Globalisation 10. Health 11. Human security 12. Media

13. Peace and Violence 14. Poverty 15. Social rights 16. Sport

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Tips for facilitationIn the manual, we use the term facilitators to describe the role of the people (trainer, teachers,youth workers, peer educators, young volunteers - or whoever) who are co-ordinating thework and running the activities. This terminology helps to emphasise that HRE requires ademocratic and participative approach.

We assume that you are facilitating groups of young people, for example in a classroom, ina youth club, a training course a youth camp or at a seminar.

Group work

Group work happens when people work together, combine their different skills and talentsand build on each other’s strengths to complete a task. Group work:

§ encourages responsibility. When people feel they own what they are doing, they areusually committed to the outcome and take care to ensure a good result.

§ develops communication skills. People need to listen, to understand what otherssay, to be responsive to their ideas and to be able to put their own thoughtsforward.

§ develops co-operation. People soon learn that when they are working towards a commongoal they do better if they co-operate than if they compete with each other.

§ involves consensual decision-making skills. People quickly learn that the best way tomake decisions is to look at all the information available and to try to find a solutionthat satisfies everybody. Someone who feels left out of the decision-making processmay disrupt the group’s work and not honour decisions which are made by the restof the group.

Group work techniques

In Chapter 2 of the manual there are references to techniques such as “brainstorming” or“role-play”. The following notes explain these terms and give some general guidelines abouthow to use them.

Note that successful group work must be task-orientated. There must be a clear questionthat needs answering or a clearly stated problem that requires solutions.

Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a way to introduce a new subject, encourage creativity and to generate a lotof ideas very quickly. It can be used for solving a specific problem or answering a question.

Instructions:

§ Decide on the issue that you want to brainstorm and formulate it into a questionthat has many possible answers.

§ Write the question where everyone can see it.§ Ask people to contribute their ideas and write down the ideas where everyone can

see them, for instance, on a flipchart. These should be single words or short phrases.§ Stop the brainstorming when ideas are running out and then§ Go through the suggestions, asking for comments.


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Note these points:

§ Write down EVERY new suggestion. Often, the most creative suggestions are themost useful and interesting!

§ No one should make any comments or judge what is written down until the end, orrepeat ideas which have already been said.

§ Encourage everyone to contribute.§ Only give your own ideas if it is necessary to encourage the group.§ If a suggestion is unclear, ask for clarification.

Wall writing

This is a form of brainstorming. Participants write their ideas on small pieces of paper (e.g.“Post-its”) and paste them on a wall. The advantages of this method are that people can sit andthink quietly for themselves before they are influenced by the others’ ideas, and the pieces ofpaper can be repositioned to aid clustering of ideas.

Discussion

Discussions are a good way for the facilitator and the participants to discover what theirattitudes to issues are. This is very important in HRE because, as well as knowing the facts,participants also need to explore and analyse issues for themselves. The news, posters andcase studies are useful tools for stimulating discussion. Start people off by asking “what doyou think about...?”.

Buzz groups

This is a useful method if no ideas are forthcoming in a whole-group discussion. Ask people todiscuss the topic in pairs for one or two minutes and then to share their ideas with the rest ofthe group. You will soon find the atmosphere “buzzing” with conversations and people “buzzing”with ideas!

Small-group work

Small-group work is in contrast to whole-group work. It is a method that encourages everyoneto participate and helps develop co-operative teamwork. The size of a small group will dependon practical things like how many people there are all together and how much space you have.A small group may be 2 or 3 people, but they work best with 6-8. Small-group work can lastfor fifteen minutes, an hour or a day depending on the task in hand.

It is rarely productive to tell people simply to “discuss the issue”. Whatever the topic, it isessential that the work is clearly defined and that people are focused on working towards agoal that requires them to feedback to the whole group. For example, assign a task in the formof a problem that needs solving or a question that requires answering.

Ranking

This is a useful method to use when you want to provide specific information or to stimulate afocused discussion in small groups.

You need to prepare one set of statement cards for each small group. There should be 9cards per set. Prepare 9 short, simple statements related to the topic you wish people todiscuss and write one statement on each card.

most important

least important

Ladder ranking

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The groups have to discuss the statements and then rank them in order of importance.This can either be done as a ladder or as a diamond. In ladder ranking the most importantstatement is placed at the top, the next most important under it and so on to the least importantstatement at the bottom.

In diamond ranking people negotiate what the most important statement is, then the twosecond-most important, then the 3 statements of moderate importance and so on as shown inthe diagram. Because issues are rarely clear cut, diamond ranking is often a more appropriatemethod. It is less contrived and therefore more acceptable to participants. It also gives betteropportunities for consensus building. A variation of the ranking method is to write 8 statementsand to leave one card blank for the participants to write for themselves.

Role-play

A role-play is a short drama acted out by the participants. Although people draw on their own lifeexperiences to role-play the situation, it is mostly improvised. It aims to bring to life circumstancesor events which are unfamiliar to the participants. Role-plays can improve understanding of asituation and encourage empathy towards those who are involved in it.

§ Role-plays differ from simulations in that although the latter may also consist ofshort dramas they are usually scripted and do not involve the same degree ofimprovisation.

§ The value of role-plays is that they imitate real life. They may raise questions towhich there is no simple answer, for example about the right or wrong behaviour ofa character. To gain greater insights, a useful technique is to ask people to reverseroles.

Role-plays need to be used with sensitivity. Firstly, it is essential that people have time atthe end to come out of role. Secondly, everyone needs to respect the feelings of individualsand the social structure of the group. For example, a role-play about disabled people shouldtake into account the fact that some participants may suffer from disabilities themselves (maybenot visible) or may have relatives or close friends who are disabled. They should not feel hurt,be forced to be exposed or marginalised. If that happens, take it seriously (apologise, re-address the issue as an example, etc.). Also, be very aware of stereotyping. Role-plays drawout what participants think about other people through their “ability” to play or imitate them.This is also what makes these activities great fun! It may be useful to always address the issuein the debriefing by asking, “do you think that the people you played are really like that?”. It isalways educational to make people aware of the need for constant, critical reviewing ofinformation. You can therefore also ask participants where they got the information on whichthey based the development of the character.

Simulations

Simulations can be thought of as extended role-plays that involve everybody. They enablepeople to experience challenging situations but in a safe atmosphere. Simulations often demanda level of emotional involvement, which makes them very powerful tools. People learn notonly with their heads and hands but also with their hearts.

Debriefing is especially important after a simulation. Players should discuss their feelings,why they chose to take the actions that they did, any injustices they perceived, and howacceptable they found any resolution that was achieved. They should be helped to drawparallels between what they have experienced and actual situations in the world.

most important

least important

Diamond ranking


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Pictures: photographs, cartoons, drawing, collage

“A picture says a thousand words”. Visual images are powerful tools both for providinginformation and for stimulating interest. Remember also that drawing is an important means ofself-expression and communication, not only for those whose preferred thinking style is visualbut also for those who are not strong in expressing themselves verbally. Ideas for activitiesusing pictures and drawings are given with the “Picture games” on page 188.

Tips for building up a picture collection

§ Pictures are such a versatile tool that it is a good idea for facilitators to build up theirown stock. Images can be collected from innumerable sources, for instance,newspapers, magazines, posters, travel brochures, postcards and greetings cards.

§ Trim the pictures, mount them on card and cover them with transparent, sticky-backed plastic (sold for covering books) to make them durable and easy and pleasantto handle. The collection will look more like a set if the cards are all made to onesize. A4 is ideal, but A5 is a good, practical compromise.

§ It can be a good idea to write a reference number on the back of each pictureand to record the source, original title or other useful information elsewhere.Thus, people will have only the image to respond to and will not be distractedby other clues.

§ When choosing pictures, look for variety. Be aware of gender, race, ability anddisability, age, nationality and culture including sub-cultures. Try to get a selection ofimages from North, South, East and West, different natural and social environmentsand cultures. Also bear in mind the impact that individual pictures have because oftheir size and colour. This effect can distort people’s perception of a picture, so tryto trim your collection so you have a reasonably homogeneous set.

Films, videos and radio plays

Films, videos and radio plays are powerful tools for HRE and popular with young people. Adiscussion after watching a film should make a good starting point for further work. Things totalk about are people’s initial reaction to the film, how true to “real life” it was, whether thecharacters were portrayed realistically, or whether they were trying to promote one particularpolitical or moral point of view.

Newspapers, radio, television, Internet

The media are an infallible source of good discussion material. It is always interesting to discussthe content and the way it is presented and to analyse bias and stereotypes.

Taking pictures and making films

The technology of camcorders and disposable cameras now makes making films and takingpictures much more accessible for everyone. Young people’s pictures and films vividly showtheir points of view and attitudes and make excellent display material. Video letters are aproven way to break down barriers and prejudices. They enable people who would nototherwise meet face to face to “talk” and to share insights into how they live and what isimportant to them.

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General tips on running activities

Co-facilitating

If at all possible, always co-facilitate together with someone else. There are practical advantagesin that there will then be two people to share the responsibility of helping with small-group workor dealing with individual needs. When two people run a session, it is easier to alter the pace andrhythm to keep things interesting and the participants on their toes. Two facilitators can supporteach other if things do not go as planned and it is also more rewarding to conduct a review withsomeone else than to do it alone. Better even than working with two facilitators is to developyour activities in a team, possibly involving some young people in the preparation.

Managing time

Plan carefully and not try to cram too much into the time available. If the activity is takinglonger than you anticipated, try to shorten it so that you have plenty of time for discussion (seenotes on the learning cycle, page 40). On the other hand, if you have lots of time in hand, donot try to drag the discussion out, have a break or do a quick energiser activity for fun.

Create a non-threatening environment

People must feel free to explore and discover, and to interact and share with each other. Begenuine, friendly, encouraging and humorous. Do not use jargon or language that participantsdo not understand.

Set ground rules

It is important that everyone in the group understands the ground rules for participatory,experiential activities. For example, everyone should take their share of the responsibility for thesession, that everyone should have a chance to be listened to, to speak and to participate. Noone should feel under pressure to say anything they do not feel comfortable with. These groundrules may be discussed and agreed when you first start working with a class or group.

Give clear instructions

Always make sure everyone has understood the instructions and knows what they have to do.The simplest way is to invite questions, and to write down what is most important. Do not beafraid of questions; they are very useful and give you (and the rest of the group) the opportunityto clarify things. No questions sometimes means a sign of general confusion (“but I am afraid toask because everyone else seems to understand”).

Facilitating discussions

Discussion is central to the HRE process. Pay special attention to ensure everyone in the groupcan participate if they wish to. Use words, expressions and language common to the group andexplain words with which they are unfamiliar.

Invite participants to offer their opinions. Ensure that there is a balance of global and localaspects so that people see the issue as directly relevant to their own lives.

Debriefing and evaluation

Give the participants plenty of time to complete the activity and if necessary come out of


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role before discussing what happened and what they learned. Spend time at the end of eachactivity talking over what people learnt and how they see it relating to their own lives, theircommunity and the wider world. Without reflection, people do not learn much from theirexperiences.

We suggest that you try to go through the debriefing and evaluation process in sequence byasking the participants questions that relate to:

§ what happened during the activity and how they felt§ what they learned about themselves§ what they learned about the issues addressed in the activity§ how they can move forward and use what they have learned

Reviewing

It is important to review the work and the learning periodically. This may be at the end of theday at a seminar or at the end of a series of two or three lessons or meetings. You may find thatthe group finds reviewing boring especially if there has already been a lot of discussion.Remember that reviewing doesn’t have to be through discussion; you can also use othertechniques including body language, drawings, sculpting, etc.

Co-facilitators should find time to relax and wind down and review how things went forthem. Talk about:

§ How the activity went from your point of view: preparation, timing, etc.§ What the participants learnt and if they met the learning objectives§ What the outcomes are: what the group will do now as a result of doing the activity§ What you yourselves learnt about the issues and about facilitating

When things don’t go the way you expected them to

Activities rarely go exactly the way you expect them to, or the way they are presented anddescribed in this manual! That is both the reward and the challenge of working with participatoryactivities. You have to be responsive to what is happening and to think on your feet.

Timing

It may be that everyone is very involved and that you are running out of time. You shouldconsult with the participants on whether to stop immediately, in 5 minutes or how else toresolve the problem.

Flagging energy

Sometimes, especially with longer sessions, it may be necessary for you to use an energiser orto suggest a short break.

Difficult discussions

Sometimes discussions get “stuck”. You will have to identify the cause. It could be many things,for example, because the topic has been exhausted or that it is too emotional. You will have todecide whether to prompt with a question, change tack or move on. You should never feelthat you have to provide the answers to participants’ questions or problems. The group itselfmust find its own answers through listening to each other and sharing. They may, of course,ask your opinion or advice, but the group must make their own decisions.

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Feedback

Feedback is a comment on something someone has said or done. It may be positive or critical in anegative sense. Giving and receiving feedback is a skill and you will need to help the group memberslearn how to do it. Too often, feedback is received as destructive criticism even though this was notthe intention of the speaker. The key words with regard to feedback are “respect” and “arguments”.

When giving feedback, it is important to respect the other person, to focus on what theysaid or did and to give reasons for your point of view. It is better to say, “I disagree stronglywith what you have just said because....” rather than “How can you be so stupid, don’t you seethat....?”. Giving negative feedback comes readily to many people, which can be painful.

It is your role as facilitator to find ways of ensuring that people give feedback in a supportiveway. For example by:

§ ensuring that people start giving the feedback with a positive statement§ respecting the other person and not make any derogatory remarks§ focusing on the behaviour, not on the person§ giving a reason for what they are saying§ taking responsibility for what they say by using “I – messages”Receiving feedback is hard, especially when there is disagreement. Your role is to help

people learn from their experiences and to help them feel supported and not put down.Encourage people to listen carefully to the feedback without immediately defending themselvesor their position. It is especially important that people understand exactly what the persongiving the feedback means and that they take time to evaluate what has been said beforeaccepting or rejecting it.

Resistance from the participants

Being involved in participatory activities is very demanding and while you will be using a varietyof techniques, for instance, discussion, drawing, role-play or music, it is inevitable that not allactivities will suit all participants all of the time. If a participant is confident and able to explainwhy they do not like a particular activity then you will be able to accommodate his or herneeds through dialogue and negotiation.

By ‘resistance’, we mean behaviour that is purposefully disruptive. All facilitators experienceresistance from participants at one time or another. Resistance can take several forms. Aninsecure young person may disturb by scraping his or her chair, humming or talking with theirneighbour. More subtle ways of disrupting the session are by asking irrelevant questions ormaking a joke out of everything. Another “game” resisters play is “undermine the facilitator”.Here they may say, “You don’t understand, it’s a long time since you were young”, or “anythingbut more discussions, why can’t we just do activities?” A third type of “game” is to try to avoidthe learning. For example people say, “yes but....”.

Obviously, it is best if you can avoid resistance. For example,§ Be aware of each person in the group and any sensitive emotions which might be

triggered by a particular activity or by a particular part in a role-play or simulation.§ Make sure everyone knows that they are at no time under any pressure to say or

reveal anything about themselves that they do not feel comfortable with.§ Allow participants time to warm up before any activity and to wind down afterwards.§ Remember to allow enough time for debriefing and discussion so everyone feels

that their opinion and participation is valued.


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You will have to decide yourself on the best way to handle a difficult situation but bear inmind that usually the best way to solve the problem is to bring it out into the open and to getthe group as a whole to find a solution. Do not get into long discussions or arguments with asingle group member. This can cause resentment and frustration among the other participantsand cause them to lose interest.

Managing conflict within the group

Conflicts may happen in groups. This is normal and your role is to help participants deal withthem. Conflicts may develop if participants feel insecure dealing with questions related toemotions and values, if they have insufficient competencies in group work or if they havecompletely different approaches to the issue or different values. Try to stay cool and do notbecome involved in conflicts with individuals.

§ Remember that conflict can be helpful and creative if managed properly.§ Take enough time for the debriefing and discussion. If necessary make more time.§ Help to clarify people’s positions, opinions and interests.§ Ease tensions in the group. For example, ask everyone to sit down or to talk for three

minutes in small subgroups or say something to put the situation into perspective.§ Encourage everybody to listen actively to each other.§ Stress what unites people rather than what separates them.§ Search for consensus. Get people to look at their common interests rather than

trying to compromise and move from their stated positions.§ Look for solutions which may resolve the problem without “recreating” the conflict.§ Offer to talk to those involved privately at another time.

If more serious and deeper conflicts arise, it may be better to postpone seeking a solutionand look for another more appropriate opportunity to resolve the problem. In the meantime,you could consider how to address the conflict from another angle, for example, by playing ashort game such as “Fist and Palm” (page 58). By postponing the resolution of the conflict youleave time for those involved to reflect on the situation and to come up with new approachesor solutions.

Conflicts that arise in the group and ways of resolving them can be used to developunderstanding and insights into the causes and difficulties of conflicts in the wider world. Thereverse is also true; discussion of international conflicts can give insights into local conflicts.

Further information on dealing with conflict can be found in the activity “Play the game!”(page 194).

Some methods and techniques for supporting effectivelearning groups

We have described group work and its role in experiential learning. Here we describe a fewgeneral activities at level 1 that specifically promote group-work skills. These activities makegood ice-breakers and energisers and, in conjunction with other activities in the manual, aregood methods for introducing human rights issues. It is often a good idea if you, the facilitator,also join in with the ice-breakers.

Taking responsibility, communication and co-operation are key skills for good group work.

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Get into lineThis activity is very simple, yet has all the characteristics and procedures for helping people learn

to take responsibility within the group. It makes a good ice-breaker.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: Any Time: 15 minutes +

Instructions

1. Tell the group to line up in order of height, the shortest person at the front and thetallest at the back. They should not talk but may communicate using sounds, signlanguage and body language.

2. When they are in line, check that the order is correct.3. Repeat the exercise getting people to line up according to other criteria that make

the game fun but not threatening, for instance, age, the month of their birthday(January to December), shoe size, etc.


Try to help the group analyse how they worked together and what makes good group work.Suggested questions are:

§ What problems did you have getting organised?§ What slowed the group down?§ Was a leader needed? Did anyone serve as a leader? How were they chosen?§ What responsibility did each group member have in solving the problem?§ How could the group solve the problem faster next time?

Go on, I’m listeningThis activity focuses on listening skills, but it also helps develop logical thinking and

confidence in expressing an opinion.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: Any Time: 35 minutes

Instructions

1. Brainstorm with the whole group what makes a good listener.2. Ask people to get into threes: one person to be the speaker, one to be the listener

and one the watchdog.3. Tell the speakers that they have 5 minutes to tell the listener their personal view on

an issue that interests them (for example, the death penalty for crimes againsthumanity, limits of free speech or any other topic that requires description, analysisand an opinion).

4. The listener has to listen and make sure that they understand what the issue isabout, why the speaker is interested in it and what their point of view is.

5. The watchdog observes the listener’s active listening skills. They should notparticipate in the discussion but observe the discussion carefully, withholding anysuggestions for improvement until time is called.

6. After 5 minutes, call time and ask the watchdogs to give feedback. Swap round untileveryone has had a chance to be speaker, listener and watchdog.


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Discuss the activity. Some useful questions may be:§ Did the speakers successfully convey their ideas and feelings about the topic? Did

they find it helpful to speak to someone who was using active listening skills?§ How was it to be a listener? Was it difficult to listen and not interrupt in order to

make a comment or add their own opinion?

Tips for facilitators

The group may initially come up with some of the following points. Hopefully by the end of theactivity, they will be able to list them all - and some more.

A good listener:§ shows respect, maintains eye contact with the speaker and doesn’t fidget.§ signals that they are attentive and listening by nodding occasionally or saying “go on,

I’m listening”.§ does not interrupt.§ does not rush to fill silences but gives the speaker time to think and resume talking.§ does not take the focus of the conversation away from the speaker by commenting

or disagreeing.§ uses open-ended questions to encourage the speaker to continue speaking or to elaborate.§ summarises or restates the speaker’s remarks from time to time to show that they

have understood.§ responds to the feelings that may lie behind the speaker’s words, and shows that

they understand how the speaker feels.

The People MachineThis is a non-verbal exercise to show how group members can respond to each other and link

their individual contributions into an integrated working unit.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: 6 or more Time: 15 minutes

Instructions

1. Ask people to stand in a circle.2. Tell them that they have to construct one huge mechanical machine together, using

only their own bodies.3. Ask one person to start. S/he chooses a simple repetitive movement, such as moving

one arm up and down rhythmically. At the same time they make a distinctive sound,for instance, a long whistle.

4. Ask a second person to come up and stand close to, or just touch the first. Theychoose their own action and noise. For example, they may bob up and down andmake a “chkk ...chkk” sound, keeping in time and rhythm with the first person.

5. Call for more volunteers, one at a time, to join in. They can join on to any existingpart of the machine. They add their own movement and sound.

6. At the end the entire group should be interconnected and moving in many inter-related ways and making many different sounds.

7. When everyone is involved and the machine is running smoothly you can “conduct”everyone to make the machine go louder or softer, faster or slower.

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You may like to ask the group:§ What similarities can they see between ‘the machine’ and an effective learning group?§ What skills did they need? Responsibility? Listening and responding skills? Co-

operation? What else?

Fist and palmThis game is useful for developing co-operation.

Complexity: Level 2 Group size: 8+ Time: 40 minutes

Instructions

1. Write the score sheet on a flipchart.2. Ask people to get into pairs; one is A, the other B.3. They both put their hands behind their backs and together count 1, 2, 3.4. On the count of 3, they must simultaneously bring their hand to the front and show

either a fist or a palm.5. Tell the pairs to keep the score.6. Play 10 rounds.7. At the end, list on a flipchart both the individual and combined scores of each pair.


Questions to ask can include:§ Who got the highest score out of all the pairs? How did you play to win?§ Who has the lowest score? How do you feel? What happened?§ Did any pairs make any agreements about how to co-operate? If so, did anyone

break the agreement? Why? How did your partner feel?§ Compare the combined scores in those groups where people competed and where

they co-operated. Were there any advantages in co-operating? If so, what? (Totalscore? Feeling good? Still friends?)

Methods and techniques for developing discussion skills

Discussions are also an opportunity to practice listening, speaking in turn and other group skillswhich are important for respecting other people’s rights. To allow everyone to participate, it isimportant that the group is of a manageable size. If your group is very large - say for examplemore than 15 or 20 people - it might be better to break up into smaller groups for the discussion.To encourage interaction and participation, it is preferable to seat participants in a circle orsemi-circle where they can see one another. General guidelines that should be discussed andagreed by the group may include:

§ Only one person should talk at a time.§ Judgmental comments or any form of ridicule are discouraged.§ Each person should talk from their own perspective and experience and not generalise

on behalf of others; that is, use “I” statements.§ Remember that there is likely to be more than one ‘right’ answer.§ Agree to maintain confidentiality when talking about sensitive issues.

Score sheetA B A BFist Palm 4 0Palm Palm 3 3Fist Fist 0 0Palm Fist 0 4


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§ Everyone has the right to be silent and not take part in discussion on a particularissue, if they so wish.

You may find the following strategies helpful:

MicrophoneThis is effective with groups that have difficulty in listening.

Instructions

The group sits in a circle. An old microphone from a tape recorder (or a similarly shapedobject) is passed around the circle. Only the person holding the microphone is allowed tospeak; the others are to listen to, and look at, the speaker. When the speaker is finished, themicrophone is passed to the next person who wishes to speak.

The dilemma gameThis is useful for encouraging people to express their opinion, listen to others and to change their

opinion in the light of new understanding. It can be varied in different ways.

Instructions

1. Prepare 3 or 4 controversial statements relating to the issue you are working with,for example, “there should be no limits to freedom of speech”.

2 Draw a line along the floor with chalk or tape.3. Explain that to the right of the line represents agreement with a statement; to the

left represents disagreement. The distance from the line represents the strength ofagreement or disagreement; the further from the line, the greater the agreement ordisagreement. The walls of the room are the limit! Standing on the line shows thatthat person has no opinion.

4. Read out the first statement.5. Tell participants to stand at a point on either side of the line that represents their

opinion about the statement.6. Now invite people to explain why they are standing where they are.7. Let everyone who wishes to, speak. Then ask if anyone wishes to change position.8. When all who wish to move have done so, ask them their reasons for moving.9. Ask another question.

Methods and techniques for developing collective decision-making skills

Making collective decisions by consensus is a lengthy process and requires people to havegood communication skills, be sensitive to the needs of others and to show imagination andtrust and to be patient. Only then can people explore issues honestly, express opinions withoutfear of censure or ridicule and feel free to change their minds as a result of reasonable argument.

The object of working for consensus is to make people aware of the range of opinions inthe group and to consider all those opinions thoughtfully so that decisions are made based onmutually agreed common interests. Consensus decision-making is not easy to facilitate.

Decision-making processes can end up in several different ways:§ One side persuades the other. This, of course, is what most people think they are

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doing when they take a majority vote, but it may well be that some important pointof view has been overlooked. When consensus is achieved through persuasion, itmeans that virtually all in the group agree that the arguments in favour of one pointof view are compelling and overwhelming, and they forsake their previous positionsand support that point of view.

§ One side gives in. Sometimes people decide that it is not worth the energy and decideto abandon their position. The point of view of dissenters is essential to creativedecision-making; often a single person holds key information that can be decisive.People should be able to change their minds freely as new information becomesavailable. When working for consensus, people should be free to explore a number ofpositions and should not feel they are deserting their party if they change their minds.

§ Both sides find a new alternative. Disagreement can sometimes be overcome if peoplestop trying to defend the positions they have taken and attempt to find a differentsolution that will satisfy both sides. Frequently neither group has to give up anythingand both groups come out feeling that they have “won”.

§ The group redefines the issue. A sincere search for consensus frequently leads peopleto realise that their conflict is caused by semantic difficulties or by a misperceptionof the other party’s position. Sometimes both sides realise that they have overstatedtheir positions and, as they strive for consensus, they moderate their stands and finda way of viewing the issue that both can support.

§ Each side gives in a little. Sometimes when people look at what they have in commonthey can come to an agreement that meets most of the needs of both sides ratherthan all the needs of one side and none of the other’s.

§ Both sides agree to have a break. Sometimes all involved agree that they do not yethave enough information to make a prudent decision, or that they are too upset toarrive at a workable solution. They may choose to postpone the issue until they canreturn with the knowledge and attitudes required to make a rational decision.

KnotsThis activity makes a good ice-breaker and energiser. It involves co-operation and decision making.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: 10-20 Time: 10 minutes

Instructions

Tell everyone to stand shoulder to shoulder in a circle with their arms stretched out in front of them.§ They should now reach out and grab hands across the circle, so that each person

holds hands with two other people. No one may hold the hand of someoneimmediately beside them. (The result is what looks like a big knot of hands!)

§ Now tell people to untangle the knot without letting go of the hands.§ Note: They will have to climb under and over each other’s arms. It takes a little

patience, but the surprising result will be one or two big circles.


§ You can ask the group how they worked together to untangle the knot.§ Was it a democratic process?§ How many ways were there of coming to a solution?


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§ Did everyone make suggestions or did one person assume leadership and direct theunravelling?

Points downThis is an energetic game that involves co-operation and group decision making. Also a good ice-

breaker and energiser.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: 6-25 Time: 15 minutes

Instructions

1. Explain to the group that in this game there are nine “points” of the body that cantouch the floor: 2 feet, 2hands, 2 elbows, 2 knees and 1 forehead.

2. Tell people to spread out in the middle of the room. Call out a number between 1and 9 and tell each player that they must touch the floor with that number of points.Repeat twice more.

3. Tell people to find a partner. Call out a number between 2 and 18. The pairs have towork together to put the correct number of points down. Repeat twice more.

4. Repeat the rounds with people working in groups of 4, then 8, and then 16 untileveryone is working together.

Tips for the facilitator

You can allow people to talk or to communicate only with sign language.When four people play together, the number could be as low as 2 if two people each stand

on one leg while carrying the other two!When four people play, the lowest practical number is probably 4. (The highest number

will be 4 multiplied by 9 = 36).In each round the highest number called may not be more than 9 times the number of

people in the group!

Pairs to 4sThis activity involves a process of discussion and negotiation.


Instructions

1. Ask the group to get into pairs to complete a task that involves the need to discussand make a decision, for instance, to agree on a date for a group outing, or a definitionof human rights or to agree the 3 most important human rights.

2. Allow 10 minutes for this stage.3. Then tell the pairs to get into fours and repeat the process.4. Note: If you are using this exercise to make a collective decision about a practical

matter, for example about the group trip, then you should continue the exercise anddo rounds with groups of 8 and then 16 until everyone is in one big group and aconsensus has been reached that best meets the needs of everyone. If you are usingthis method to discuss the definition of human rights, get into plenary after the groupsof 4 have finished discussing. This avoids the exercise getting repetitive and boring.

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Suggested questions for discussing the nature of the decision-making process are:§ The method takes a long time. Was the outcome worth it?§ Does everyone feel consulted and involved in the decision-making process (even if

in the end the outcome was not their preferred choice)?§ Were there any minority needs that could not be accommodated? (For example,

with the date of the trip).

Activities for reviewing

During training or any teaching programme, it is important to review periodically. Thefollowing activities can be used at any time. They are fun ways to help people learn from theirexperiences. They include drawing, sculpting, and story-telling methods.

End gameThis can be a very a quick way of getting feedback. The more rounds you do the more feedback you get.

Complexity: Level 1 Group size: Any Time: 3 or 4 minutes per round

Instructions

1. Tell people to sit in a circle.2. Remind them briefly about what they have been doing.3. Choose one of the pairs of statements below.4. Go round the circle, ask each person in turn to complete their statement. No

comments or discussion are allowed.5. Do further rounds if you have time or if you want to get further feedback.

Examples of statements:

§ The best thing about the activity was.... And the worst was....§ The most interesting thing was..... The most boring thing was...§ What I resented most is ... What I appreciated most is...§ The funniest thing .... The most serious thing …§ I would have liked more of ... and less of...§ The thing I enjoyed doing most ... the thing that I least liked doing …§ I felt most confident doing .... I felt least confident doing ...

High and lowThis method is very quick and uses body language.


Preparation

Think of 3 or 4 questions to ask, for example, “Did you enjoy the activity?” or “Did you learnanything new?”


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Instructions

1. Read out the first question.2. Tell the group to consider their response and then to show with their whole bodies

how they feel. If they strongly agree with the statement they should reach up ashigh as they can and may even stand on tiptoe! People who strongly disagree shouldcrouch down low or even lie on the floor. People can also find their own in-betweenpositions to indicate their level of response.

3. Ask people to relax and read out the second question.

Points of viewThis activity combines movement with the option of discussion.


Preparation

3 or 4 questions, for example, “Did you enjoy the activity?” “Did you learn anything new?”

Instructions

1. Name the four walls of the hall ‘yes’, ‘no’, ‘I don’t know’ and ‘I want to say something’,to represent four different points of view.

2. Ask the first question about the activity and tell people to go to the wall thatrepresents their response.

3. Let those who want to say something have their say. Only people at the fourth ‘Iwant to say something’ wall may speak.

Weather reportThis uses a “story-telling” method. It can be used at the end of an activity as a review.

Alternatively, it works well part way through a long project to enable people to look back andthen to look forward.


Preparation

Paper and pencils optional

Instructions

1. Give people 5 -10 minutes to think about the day/training/project/work you areinvolved in and get them to ask themselves: “Am I enjoying it so far? What am Igetting out of it and is it going to be successful?”

2. Then ask them one at a time to describe how they feel in terms of a weather report.

Tips for facilitators

If people need an illustration of what you mean you could say, “My day started dull and overcast...then I had to put up my umbrella to keep me from the downpour.... but many of you helpedme hold up the umbrella... showers are also forecast for tomorrow, but next week I foresee it

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will be bright and sunny”. This could mean that you started off not too sure, then things gotreally bad and you were glad of people’s support, you are not too sure about immediate plansbut you think you will get there in the end.

The timing given is for a group of 10-12 people. Bigger groups need more time.

Variations

§ People could draw their weather forecast instead of speaking it.§ You can use this basic idea to review your project as though you were doing a

commentary on a football or cricket match, or any other event that is relevant.

Hit the headlinesThe idea is for the group to produce a mock-up of the front page of a tabloid newspaper. The

headlines summarise the group’s thoughts and feelings about what they have been doing.


Preparation: You will need an A3 size sheet of paper and some felt-tip pens for each smallgroup.

Instructions

1. Tell the participants to get into small groups of three or four.2. Tell them to discuss what they have been doing and what they have got out of the

project or activity, and to brainstorm the highlights and the disasters.3. Each small group should agree together on 5 or 6 “stories”. They should write a headline

for each story together with a few sentences to give the flavour of the story if they wish.They should not write the whole story. A “photograph” is optional but a good idea.

§ Display the pages.§ Presentation and discussion is optional.

RucksackThis activity involves drawing and creativity.


Materials: Papers and coloured pens

Instructions

1. It is the end of a workshop or seminar. Ask people to draw themselves going homewith a rucksack on their back. The rucksack contains all the items that they wouldlike to carry home them.

2. They should consider everything that they have learnt and want to keep. Thingsmay include items such as books or pictures, feelings, people, ideas, new ways ofseeing the world, strengths they have gained from overcoming a difficulty, or values.

3. They can also show things lying on the ground - things that they want to leavebehind. These might be things like bad habits, old ideas, difficult moments, badfood, no sleep - whatever!


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References and further readingBond, Tim, Games for social and life skills, Hutchinson, 1986, ISBN 0 09 162541 6Bradbury, Andrew, Develop your NLP skills, Kogan Page, 1997, ISBN 0-7494-3260-8Brandes, Donna, Gamester’s handbook Hutchinson Education, 1982, ISBN 0-09-15900-9Boud, David, Cohen, Ruth, Walker, David, Using experience for learning, The Society for Research

into Higher Education and Open University Press, 1993, ISBN0-335-19095-2Claude, Richard Pierre, Methodologies for Human Rights Education, www. pdhre.orgDearling, Alan, Armstrong, Howard, The Youth Games Book.1980. The Intermediate

Treatment Resource Centre. ISBN 1 85202 008 3Kolb, David, The Kolb learning cycle, www.css.edu/users/dswenson/web/PAGEMILL/Kolb.htmSiniko, Amnesty International, www.afrika.amnesty.orgStanford, Gene, Developing effective classroom groups, Acora Books, Oak House, 1990.Transformative Mediation www.colorado.edu/conflict/transformJohnson, Roger T., Johnson, David W., An overview of co-operative learning www.clcrc.com

Endnotes1 Excerpts and figures from the “Study on the state of young people and youth policy in Europe”, research carried out for

the European Commission by IARD; Milan, January 2001.2 Source: Euro barometer 47.1, Young people’s attitudes to the European Union, European Commission 1998.3 Final declaration of the 5th Conference of European Ministers Responsible for Youth, Bucharest, “Young people: active

citizens in a future Europe”, April 1998.4 “Learning, the Treasure Within” UNESCO report about education in the XXI Century, 1996

Documents

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